Vitor Roque has struggled to make an impact at Barcelona (Getty)
Vitor Roque’s agent has hit out at Xavi’s handling of the Brazilian forward and claims the 19-year-old could leave Barcelona this summer.
Last year, Barcelona fended off competition from several clubs across Europe, including Manchester United and Tottenham, to sign Vitor Roque in a €61 million (£52.2m) deal from Athletico Paranaense.
Vitor Roque joined Barca in January but has struggled to make an impact in his first five months at the club, starting just two games plus making a further 11 appearances off the bench.
‘Everyone thinks that Vitor Roque has to have more minutes and no one understands why the coach [Xavi] doesn’t give them to him,’ Andre Cury, Vitor Roque’s representative, said in an interview on RAC1.
‘Xavi has never spoken to the player. I do not understand this situation and I think it is not good for either party.
‘I have told the boy that what he has to do is work even harder and wait for the opportunity, but I have also seen matches to give him minutes and prominence and thus avoid this unpleasant situation.
Xavi has been criticised for his handling of Vitor Roque at Barcelona (BSR Agency/Getty)
‘In my opinion the team concedes a lot of goals and that doesn’t help.
‘With 300 minutes he has two goals and I would say that he is the team’s top scorer if we look at the average number of minutes played.
‘Look what has happened with Vinicius Jr at Madrid – it took him two and a half years to play. Here in two months a mess is already created and people want to kill and kill, instead of helping. It’s something I don’t understand.’
Vitor Roque has started just two games since joining Barcelona (Shutterstock)
Cury also made it clear that he will push for Vitor Roque to leave on a permanent deal this summer if he is not part of Barcelona’s plans under Xavi.
‘I already spoke with Deco. The boy has a contract with Barca and we chose Barca instead of other options where we could earn double the money,’ Cury said.
‘I am certain that Vitor Roque will be a great player but if Barça doesn’t let him, the club or the coach, I don’t know what happens internally, we will look for another way.
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‘We do not want a loan. If the club decides that he cannot stay, he will be sold. There are many teams interested in Vitor Roque.
‘If the club does not give space to Vitor we will have to look for a solution. Either he stays or he is transferred, not a loan, it is very dangerous for the boy’s career.
‘The best thing would be to stay at Barca, but if he cannot stay we will work for a transfer.’
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