Vitor Roque opens up on 'bad times' at Barcelona & admits to idolising Lionel Messi's eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo

Roque's dream move from Athletico Paranaense to Barcelona in January turned into a nightmare in the span of just six months as he left the club on loan to Real Betis ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. The miserable spell with the Catalan giants saw the Brazilian score just two goals across all competitions in 16 appearances. He clocked only 353 minutes on the pitch and started in only three matches under Xavi.

The 19-year-old, however, has made a fresh start to his journey in Europe at Betis, scoring five goals in 14 matches so far this season. The youngster has now revealed that he is loving life at his new club after coming through the "bad times" at Barca last season. He also confessed his admiration for Barcelona legend Messi's eternal rival Ronaldo.

In an interview with Real Betis' official television channel, the Brazilian was asked if he rushed his move to Barca, to which he replied: "Yes, yes, the truth is that I was in Brazil and I didn't know if I was going to come or not. I found out that I was going to come to Spain about a week before, I was on vacation, I didn't know.

"And when I arrived I had few opportunities, I didn't have time to adapt either. The truth is that I had some bad times there, but they serve as a learning experience, you know? I'm very happy to be here. The things I've learned there help me today and I'm very happy."

When asked about his childhood idol, the teenager said: "Cristiano. And I really like Neymar too, for his way of playing, his Brazilian magic. But Cristiano too, to be honest."

After offloading Roque, new Barca manager Hansi Flick signed Spain's Euro 2024 hero Dani Olmo, who has shown early promise at the Catalan club, having scored five goals in eight appearances. Flick's men will be back in action this Saturday as they take on Celta Vigo in La Liga, with Roque set to line up for Betis against Valencia on the same day.