Barcelona director Deco talks Messi farewell, Xavi, Neymar, Raphinha, Vitor Roque

Following his return from an important Brazil trip, Deco has started outlining Barcelona’s transfer plans for the coming two transfer windows.

The Barcelona sporting director has also given an interview to Brazilian media outlet Lance (h/t MARCA), where he talked about various topics ranging from Lionel Mess to Neymar.

Deco confirms Barcelona’s farewell plans for Messi

The highlight of the interview saw Deco talking about Lionel Messi and how Barcelona are planning to hold a farewell match for the Argentine.

“I think there will be a farewell game, but maybe in the new stadium when it’s ready. He will always be the greatest idol in the history of the club. The club had great idols, such as Cruyff, Ronaldo, but he is perhaps the greatest of all,” Deco said.

The Brazilian is referring to the ongoing Espai Barça project that will ensure a massive revamp of Camp Nou, not only increasing the overall capacity but also the infrastructure.

“He (Messi) will definitely play a farewell game at Barcelona, but when it will be, we don’t know. He is playing, and I hope he plays for more years, because the people who like football, who like him, will be happy to see him happy,” he added.

A tribute match for Messi has been in the works for a while now, with Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas also willing to do everything to make it happen.

Deco on Vitor Roque

Vitor Roque also talked about Vitor Roque, outlining the club’s plans to bring the Brazilian to Catalonia.

“The idea is for Roque to come as soon as possible. It depends on some things, such as Fair Play. It has nothing to do with the economic part of the club, they are the rules of the league itself. And let’s see what will happen,” Deco said.

“He is a young player, in whom we believe a lot. We know that we have one of the best center forwards in the world, which is Lewandowski, but the time will come when we will need someone for that position,” he further added.

The Barça director echoed similar lines a few days ago, ushering in hope for fans that they will soon be able to see the Brazilian attacker in Blaugrana colours.

“For Vitor, being able to get to Barcelona with a reference like Lewandowski, would be a fantastic learning for him,” he added.

Deco on Raphinha and Neymar

Deco went on to talk about two more Brazilians in the form of Neymar and Raphinha.

Talking about the latter, the director highlighted the importance of the winger’s presence at Barça, despite making a slow start.

“The first year at Barcelona is always complicated for any player, but I think he did very well. This year he started well, he was unlucky to be sent off in the first game, but he played well again. And in the game he was playing very well, he suffered an injury,” he said.

“He will probably recover in another two weeks, but we count on him a lot. He is fundamental. In addition to scoring many goals and assists, he is a competitive player and that is very important for us,” he stated.

As for Neymar, Deco confirmed talks with the former PSG superstar over a potential move to Camp Nou this summer.

“There were conversations with his agent.  This was much more with the president, but the truth is that the situation and how it could be done were never presented in a real way,” he remarked.

“Neymar had a very high salary, he had offers from clubs in Saudi Arabia. It was very difficult to get Neymar back in the current scenario. He is a fantastic player.”

Relationship with Xavi

With Deco now fully taking over the recruitment department at Barcelona, he will be working very closely with manager Xavi Hernandez in order to strengthen the squad in the seasons to come.

On his relationship with the manager, Deco said: “I have a fantastic relationship with Xavi and things have gone very well.”

Stressing how Xavi is the right candidate to lead the team forward, the director added: “We managed to bring in a coach who knew a lot about the reality of Barcelona. He gave us the peace of mind of being able to create and form a team.

“He is the perfect coach to make this change. Last year we won the championship, we have an important base of young players and we have to find the balance to compete at the highest level.”