Raphinha reveals extent of Vitor Roque's Barcelona struggles | OneFootball

Barcelona star Raphinha has revealed the extent of Vitor Roque's struggles in Catalonia, disclosing that the young striker even burst into tears at the end of one of Hansi Flick's training sessions.

After seeing Real Madrid test the Brazilian market to great degrees of success, Barca opted to sign a samba hotshot of their own in 2023, agreeing a €40m deal with Athletico Paranaense for teenage striker Roque.

The 18-year-old joined the club at the start of 2024 but struggled to make a name for himself during his first six months in Catalonia - a tumultuous period for Barcelona at the end of Xavi Hernandez's managerial tenure.

Roque scored twice in 14 La Liga appearances before Flick's appointment, and there was plenty of speculation surrounding the player's future over the summer. Such discourse, Raphinha revealed to Isabela Pagliari, weighed heavily on Roque.

"There was a training session in which Vitor was very upset with this situation of 'go, don't leave', 'stay, don't stay', some told him to stay, others to leave," the Barca winger said.

Roque struggled at Barcelona / Eric Alonso/GettyImages

Flick seemingly had little say on Roque's future, with Raphinha adding that the new manager "went to the board to find out about Vitor's situation," and dealt with the teenager admirably after he broke down into tears.

"There was a training session in which he made a lot of stupid mistakes. He finished the first part of the session and burst into tears. Then the coach called me to help him with the translation, he asked me what was happening and Vitor couldn't even speak. He said to me: 'Ask him if he wants to leave', and Vitor said 'yes'. Hansi told him: 'No problem, you can go. Rest'," the Brazilian international noted.

A sympathetic Flick was supposedly keen on retaining Roque for the season, with the German telling Raphinha that he was "counting" on the young striker, but he was instead loaned out to Real Betis, where he scored seven times in 33 appearances, and has since returned to Brazil. Palmeiras eventually signed the 20-year-old for €25m in February ahead of the Club World Cup this summer.

After a forgettable stint in Spain, during which Roque separated from his wife, there's hope that the Brazilian can get his career back on track in a familiar environment. He scored his first goal back in his homeland against Vasco da Gama at the weekend, and Roque's adviser Andre Cury insisted back in March that Roque departed Barcelona without resentment.

"Vitor Roque is not leaving Barca with a bad feeling. I think he could return to Barca in a few years," Cury said.