Palmeiras have reached an agreement in principle for the signing of Barcelona forward Vitor Roque.
The Athletic reported the 19-year-old’s proposed move to Palmeiras had stalled because of Spanish transfer rules regarding returning loan players, with Roque on a season-long loan at Real Betis.
An initial fee of €25million plus €5m in add-ons has been agreed, and a sell-on clause is also set to be included as part of the deal. As compensation for terminating Roque’s loan before the end of the season, Betis will receive an additional percentage of the rights to winger Abde Ezzalzouli.
Betis already own 50 per cent of Abde’s rights, while the remaining half belongs to Barcelona, who they signed the Morocco international from in the summer of 2024 in a deal worth €7.5m.
It is unconfirmed if the agreement in principle will permit Roque to move to Palmeiras before the Brazil transfer window closes on February 28 or whether it will have to wait until the European window re-opens in the summer, but all parties involved expect the move to happen during this window.
The transfer had initially stalled as rules in Spain state players returning from loan to their parent club must do so when the transfer window is open so the player can be re-registered with the parent club. The winter transfer window in Spain closed on February 3.
FIFA, La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have been contacted by The Athletic for comment.
Roque has been at Betis since August 2024 when he joined on a season-long loan deal with the option of another year.
He joined Barcelona in January 2024 in a transfer worth €30million (£26m; $33m) in fixed fees, plus €31m more in add-ons, in a deal the Catalan club brought forward from summer 2024.
However, Roque failed to establish himself at Barcelona, playing 353 minutes in the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign, starting just two La Liga games and scoring two goals.
He scored four goals in 22 La Liga appearances for Betis during the first half of this season but has not started any of the most recent four league matches.
Barcelona are next in action against Real Sociedad on March 2 while Betis face Real Madrid on March 1.
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