FC Barcelona continues to live hours of tension regarding the transfer of the 19-year-old Brazilian forward, Vitor Roque, to Palmeiras. It is worth remembering that apparently the agreement between the Catalan club and the 'Verdão' for the transfer of the Timóteo native was well on track to be finalized without any issues. However, an unexpected hitch arose after LaLiga put a 'brake' on the negotiation, arguing that, to approve this operation, 'Tigrinho' would have to break his loan agreement with Real Betis and be registered again as a player of the Catalan team.
This obstacle apparently was imposed by enforcing article 159.2 of the general regulations of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, specifically in section B, which indicates that to undo a loan agreement, "the lending club interested in the return of the player must carry it out within the registration periods provided for according to the category in which he plays".
Here lies the main inconvenience, as the winter transfer market in Spain closed on February 3, there is no option for FC Barcelona to register 'Tigrinho', regardless of Real Betis' willingness to part with the forward. In light of this, the deal for Vitor Roque, which was rumored to be closed in a transfer worth around €25 million for 80% of the economic rights of the '9', was put on 'stand-by' with few certainties about whether it can be finalized or not.
FIFA turns a blind eye to any blockage in Vitor Roque's transfer to Palmeiras
However, everything indicates that this situation will be resolved soon. As reported in 'SPORT', FIFA considers that there is no legal impediment for the operation to be carried out, even though the transfer window in Spanish football is closed.
The mentioned source claims that the legal services of FC Barcelona acted promptly and submitted a double interrogation to UEFA and FIFA. This was based on the legal argument known as 'technical transfer' and the jurisprudence of a player from Palmeiras.
The 'Pedro Lima case': an important precedent to consider
Here it is relevant to mention the 'Pedro Lima case', a jurisprudence in FIFA that supports the position of FC Barcelona. In July 2024, Palmeiras used the 'technical transfer' recourse, endorsed by FIFA, to allow the temporary transfer of this player to NK Osijek in Croatia, who was on loan from 'Verdão' to Norwich City and ultimately managed to break the loan agreement with the English club, despite being out of time, as the Brazilian summer market was closed when the move was made, taking advantage of the fact that the transfer window in Croatian football was open.
Based on the resolution of this case, FIFA has given the green light for FC Barcelona to proceed with this transaction without any legal impediment for the termination of the contract with Betis and its subsequent transfer to Palmeiras. This obstacle should therefore be resolved without too many difficulties, given that there is agreement among all the parties involved.