After Athletico Paraense’s unexpected departure from the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday night, a glimmer of hope emerged for Barcelona to acquire their new signing, Vitor Roque, this summer. However, a resolute message has been conveyed regarding the Brazilian’s immediate prospects.

Athletico’s CEO, Alexandre Mattos, engaged with Fabrizio Romano, affirming that any possibility of an early departure for their leading scorer and standout player, Vitor Roque, has been firmly ruled out. The Brazilian club is placing full confidence in Roque for the remainder of their league campaign’s crucial 20 matches. These contests will determine their qualification for the upcoming Libertadores season.

Barcelona formally unveiled the 18-year-old striker’s signing last month, specifying that he wouldn’t become part of the team until 2024. Despite this, recent reports on Wednesday indicated that Barcelona had dispatched agents to Brazil to initiate discussions for Vitor’s early release from the club known as Furacão.

However, Mattos’ statement is unequivocal, suggesting that fans will likely need to exercise patience until January for the prospect of witnessing Tigrinho don the Barcelona jersey.