Why Vitor Roque rejected more money from Manchester City to sign for Barcelona

A fresh insight into the process which ultimately culminated in Barcelona landing Brazilian sensation Vitor Roque has been forthcoming late this evening.

Frontman Roque, of course, sealed a move to Catalunya’s capital early last week.

After Barca reached an agreement with their counterparts at Athletico Paranaense to push his arrival forward from the summer to the winter, the youngster put pen to paper on a long-term deal with Xavi’s troops.

The Blaugrana, however, were far from Roque’s only option.

A whole host of clubs from across Europe are understood to have expressed a keen interest in the striker’s services, with Roque widely considered to be a star in the making.

One such outfit came in the form of Premier League champions Manchester City.

And, if the latest word stemming from the media is anything to go by, the Sky Blues were serious about bringing Roque to The Etihad Stadium.

As per Xavi Torres of Diario Sport, the hierarchy on the blue half of the Manchester divide offered the Brazilian international a considerably more lucrative contract than their counterparts at Barcelona.

Roque, however, showed little hesitation in rebuffing City’s proposal.

This comes with the youngster having had his heart set firmly on a move to Barca, to the point that he was willing to leave a considerable sum of money on the table, to assure that his Camp Nou dream came true.

Conor Laird | GSFN