Vitor Roque’s agent Andre Cury has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur were willing to pay over €100m (£85.6m) for his client but the striker had his heart set on a move to Barcelona.
Roque is widely viewed as one of the best-attacking talents to emerge from Brazilian football over the last few years.
The striker has found the back of the net 15 times and provided six assists in 32 appearances across all competitions this season for Athletico Paranaense (Transfermarkt) and has already been capped by the Selecao despite turning 18 just a few months ago.
Last week, we relayed a report from Mundo Deportivo which claimed Spurs, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain were looking to hijack Roque’s move to Barca as the Catalan giants were delaying sending over the papers for the transfer despite striking a deal with Paranaense.
However, Barca have seemingly wrapped up a deal for the teenager, who will now complete a move to the Camp Nou.
The Daily Mail reveal that the La Liga club will play an initial fee of £26m for Roque but the fee could rise as high as £52m if some performance-related add-ons are achieved.
Spurs and Man United tried to hijack Roque deal
Cury has now claimed that Spurs and Manchester United are willing to pay a whopping €100m (£85.6m) to hijack the striker’s move to Barca.
Roque’s agent said on the Charla Podcast (via The Mail): “We received much bigger offers from Tottenham and Manchester United for Vitor Roque. It was over €100 million.
“But his career plan is well mapped out and we opted for Barcelona. The moment is not to look at the money but the career.”
Spurs Web Opinion
If Spurs were willing to shatter their transfer record for Roque, that suggests that they were convinced that the teenager is on his way to becoming one the best players in world football.
It would have been a massive gamble as there is no guarantee that the striker would fulfil his potential on the biggest stage.