Barcelona forward’s entourage on his lack of game-time: “You have to ask Xavi”

Vitor Roque has been a Barcelona player for a little over two months now and it has not all been easy for the teenage striker.

Signed from Athletico Paranaense in the summer itself, the 19-year-old was allowed to continue in Brazil itself as the Catalans faced FFP issues and wouldn’t have been able to register him then.

But following Gavi’s season-ending injury in November, Barcelona decided to make use of the space created to bring forward Roque’s arrival to January.

No minutes for Vitor Roque

However, since his arrival, Vitor Roque has not been getting regular minutes from manager Xavi Hernandez.

It must be noted that Roque arrived at the club after a prolonged spell on the sidelines through injury and also had some physical problems early in his tenure in Spain.

But despite him being fit for the past few weeks, minutes continue to be hard to come by.

Xavi opted not to bring him on during the draw against Napoli last month when Barcelona needed a goal.

Last night against Athletic Club it was the same as the 19-year-old was not called upon with the score being tied at 0-0.

Ask Xavi, say Roque’s entourage

Xavi has been reluctant to play Roque.(Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

The lack of minutes is certainly a bit perplexing, considering Xavi pushed to have Vitor Roque in the squad in the winter.

But the 19-year-old has featured for only 164 minutes out of the 720 that Barcelona have played in La Liga since his arrival.

Culemania reached out to the Brazilian whizkid’s entourage for an update regarding his situation and the lack of minutes at Barcelona.

When asked why the striker has not been playing, his camp replied: “You have to ask Xavi.”

Xavi, for his part, continues to speak highly of Roque and believes he can be a big player Barça. Yet, his faith in the youngster has not translated into minutes on the pitch.

Whether it changes in the weeks to come will be interesting to see.