Barcelona striker target’s agent confirms rejecting €25 million offer from an unnamed club

Speaking to Globoesporte (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Andre Cury, the agent of Athletico Paranaense striker and Barcelona target Vitor Roque has claimed that multiple clubs have already made offers for him and confirmed that a proposal worth €25 million has been rejected.

The 17-year-old has emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in Brazil. Having helped his club reach the finals of the Copa Libertadores last season, Roque recently won the South American U-20 Championship with the Brazilian U-20 national team, finishing as the top scorer.

Barcelona have a strong interest in the youngster as they see him as the ideal understudy to Robert Lewandowski and someone who can be groomed into taking over as the premier No. 9 in the future.

However, interest in the 17-year-old youngster is growing at a rapid rate, as recently revealed by Athletico Paranaense’s president.

Now, Andre Cury, a former employee of Barcelona and Roque’s agent, has confirmed that there have been offers for him from teams in England, Italy and Spain.

“There was already a proposal, but it was rejected. There was an English club, I don’t want to name names, a Spanish club that already made an offer, an Italian one,” he said.

“We got more or less a value of €25 million, and we immediately rejected it, because I understand that the player has a higher value than that, even because some players were sold in Brazil for €20 million.”

Cury then went on to claim that Roque, along with another young Brazilian in Yuri Alberto, have what it takes to replace the ageing No. 9s in Europe such as Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani, and Robert Lewandowski in the future.

“He has managed to show that he has all the physical, mental, and technical characteristics to be playing for a big club in Europe. He and Yuri Alberto are two players who work hard physically and bring a lot to the team and they are modern players.

“The top No. 9s in Europe are older, like Benzema, Cavani, Lewandowski, and it will open up that gap for these players,” he said.

While it was initially believed that Roque could be available for around €35-40 million, including variables, recent reports in Brazil suggest that he could cost in excess of €50 million.