The recent comments laid out by the agent of Barcelona star Vitor Roque, regarding the attacker’s relationship with Xavi, have been firmly refuted by those behind the scenes in Catalunya’s capital.
Roque’s representative, Andre Cury, of course grabbed the headlines across Barcelona in the early hours of Monday.
As much came owing to an explosive interview with RAC1, which saw Cury make clear his frustration with his client’s treatment since arriving in Spain during the January transfer window.
Xavi came in for the brunt of the criticism, with the Spanish tactician having been accused of failing to provide Roque with the kind of environment in which to thrive:
“No one understands why he is not getting minutes. Xavi never spoke to him. This is wrong and I don’t understand this situation.
“He gave minutes to Fermin, Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal but not to Vitor Roque. I don’t understand why.
“Against PSG we needed to score, so why did Xavi not bring Vitor in? Many things have happened that I can’t explain.
“Xavi needs to help Vitor. When you play 300 minutes the whole season, it’s very difficult to gain confidence. The player needs to play and not only the last few minutes.”
Safe to say, however, that this is not an opinion shared by those behind the scenes at Barcelona.
As revealed by Diario Sport, ‘it is absolutely false that the technician has not spoken with Roque. He has done it on several occasions.’
In fact, Xavi is understood to have pulled his young striker in for individual discussions on a number of occasions, to talk through both the technical and tactical aspects of his game.
This comes amid a conscious effort to ensure the best possible integration for Roque into his setup.
Significantly, it is concluded that the player himself does not have any issues with Xavi, hinting that his agent may have been more than a touch hasty with his frankly over-the-top recent comments.
Conor Laird | GSFN
