Barcelona ready to sell 19-year-old star to Neymar’s Al-Hilal in the summer transfer window: Reports
Barcelona are willing to offload Brazilian forward Vitor Roque and are hoping to receive an offer from Neymar’s Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, according to Spanish outlet Sport (via Barca Universal). Roque joined Barca in January 2024 from Brazilian Serie A side Athletico Paranaense for a reported sum of €40 million.
Roque, 19, has had a disappointing time with the Catalan giants so far. He arrived in Spain with plenty of promise but remained a fringe player under then-manager Xavi, with the teenager starting just two games in six months. The Brazilian scored two goals in 353 minutes across 16 appearances in all competitions for Barca last season.
According to the Sport report, Roque doesn’t want to continue at the Camp Nou as the club have indicated that his playing time will not increase under new manager Hansi Flick.
While the club were initially looking to send him out on loan, Al-Hilal’s potential interest in the player has changed the situation. Barcelona are now hoping to recover their investment in the player and bolster their finances for new arrivals.
The report adds that Al-Hilal have already contacted Barca through intermediaries, with the Catalans open to a permanent deal.
Roque has potential suitors within Europe as well, but the club have only received loan offers so far. Apart from a few Spanish clubs, Porto and Lazio have also shown an interest in the player.
Ex-Barcelona chief says Neymar would have won Ballon d’Or if he had stayed with the Catalan giants
Former Barcelona sporting director Javier Bordas has shared his thoughts on why Neymar did not win the Ballon d’Or in his illustrious career.
The Brazilian forward was expected to be the successor to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of their dominance at the Ballon d’Or awards. Neymar’s transition from one of the world’s most promising talents at Santos to a world-class player at Barcelona made him one of the favorites to win the award.
However, Neymar left the Catalan giants in a sensational transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017 for a world-record €222 million. Many, including Bordas, believe that transfer to be the reason why the Brazilian never won the Ballon d’Or.
“I would have liked him to stay and there were options for him to come back. If he had come back, he would have won the Ballon d’Or with Barça. He wanted to come back so much that a few weeks after his departure, he already wanted to come back,” he said (via PSG Talk).
Neymar has scored 360 goals and has registered 221 assists in 589 games in his club career. He is also Brazil’s all-time top scorer with 79 goals, and has registered 59 assists in 129 international appearances.