Historic deal and goal fest: Relive Vitor Roque’s year at Palmeiras | OneFootball

The number nine has arrived! That's how President Leila Pereira described the arrival of Vitor Roque at Palmeiras. Being the most expensive signing in the history of Brazilian football in terms of value, the forward experienced a bit of everything in his first year with Brazil's Greatest Champion.

Historic Signing

Vitor Roque's arrival at Palmeiras was surrounded by ups and downs in the negotiation. The player, who belonged to Barcelona, was on loan to Real Betis in Spain. For the negotiation to happen, Verdão had to insist a lot and go to FIFA. This was because the Spanish League's regulations did not allow the sale of a player who was on loan without the local transfer window being open. Barcelona would have to register the forward again to finally negotiate him.

With all these obstacles, Palmeiras appealed to FIFA and managed to secure the release for the forward's arrival at Brazil's Greatest Champion. After the deal was finalized, the Spanish League even considered changing the regulations because of this situation.

Roque joined Palmeiras for 25 million euros plus five million in bonuses for targets outlined in the contract.

Journey at Verdão

At the beginning of his journey with Brazil's Greatest Champion, Vitor Roque did not immediately live up to expectations. The player had been lacking confidence for years and faced this at Palmeiras, with Abel Ferreira saying the player was playing with 50kg on his back.

In the FIFA Club World Cup, the player was one of Verdão's worst performers in the competition, which increased the skepticism many had about him. But Vitor Roque showed resilience and became Palmeiras' standout player in 2025.

With goals, assists, and a lot of talent, Verdão's number nine was called up again for the Brazilian National Team and is expected to be selected by Carlo Ancelotti for the World Cup.

Long Contract and European Interest

With a long contract, Vitor Roque is more than in Palmeiras' plans for the 2026 season. Verdão sees the athlete as one of the pillars for the next year. With his success, naturally, many clubs will be interested in the forward from Brazil's Greatest Champion, but there are no negotiations underway yet.

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