Vitor Roque felt early pressure, celebrates growth at Palmeiras | OneFootball

Vitor Roque finished his first season at Palmeiras with 20 goals scored, second only to Flaco López in the club's top scorers. The 20-year-old forward revealed that he had to overcome the pressure he faced at the beginning of his time at the club to finally take off and end as one of the highlights of Abel Ferreira's team.

“Of course, it wasn't easy, but I thank God that I learned a lot, and today living everything I am experiencing at Palmeiras is very gratifying, the realization of a dream. I didn't even imagine it would be so quick and end the season with 20 goals. Unfortunately, we didn't achieve the collective awards, but I'm happy with my season personally,” he said at the Bola de Prata awards ceremony.

Most expensive signing

Vitor Roque admitted that the pressure and external demands influenced him at the start of his journey. Vitor Roque was the most expensive signing in Palmeiras' history, with the club paying around 25 million euros (about R$ 155 million at the time) to Barcelona.

The investment argument was one of the points used by critics. Vitor Roque joined Palmeiras at the end of February and took 12 games to finally shine.

“When I arrived, yes, I felt the pressure, many said: ‘Oh, they paid millions, he has to deliver results.’ We know that football is about results, that forwards live off goals, and I wasn't managing to score my goals. I understood it was an adaptation process, that I was in Europe, and returning to Brazil is not easy. But happy, happy to have helped Palmeiras and, more importantly, to be scoring goals, helping, and I hope to continue like this for the 2026 season,” he concluded.

Vitor Roque's season

The Palmeiras forward was the top scorer for Palmeiras in the Brasileirão, with 13 goals scored. The Verdão finished as runners-up, achieving 76 points, three less than Flamengo, who took the trophy. Vitor Roque's good performance this year earned him a call-up to the Brazilian National Team.

The “Little Tiger” was on Carlo Ancelotti's list for the last two friendlies of the year and gained minutes only in the draw against Tunisia, where he won a penalty. Now, he lives with the expectation of staying on the Italian's radar to, hopefully, compete in the 2026 World Cup.

In total, he played 49 games and scored 20 goals.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.