Deco commented on the reasons for the failure to introduce Rock: Xavi is too hasty, Barcelona is not paying enough attention

Barcelona sports director Deco recently said in an interview with Brazilian media "Globo" that the team did make a decision in introducing forward Vito Rock, and bluntly stated that the then coach Xavi was responsible for the players' early joining.

The Brazilian forward star joined Barcelona from Athletico Barça in January 2024 for a basic transfer fee of 30 million euros and a price of up to 61 million euros, but was resold to Palmeiras just one year later, and was also rented to Real Betis during this period. This series of operations has aroused widespread doubts from the outside world about Barcelona's signing strategy.

Signing him is right, it is too early

Deco first explained the reason for introducing Rock: "It was not wrong to sign him, because Lewandowski was 34 or 35 years old at that time, and we had to find a replacement for the future. So signing Vito was for long-term considerations." However, he also admitted that there were problems in the timing choice.

"His transfer was not as expensive as the outside world said, and we ended up recouping most of the investment," Deco added.

Xavi insisted on introducing early, and Deco said it was a wrong decision

When talking about why Rock joined Barcelona in the winter window rather than in the summer, Deco pointed out without hesitation: "It was Xavi that asked him to come midway that season. We always listened to the coach's opinions, so he arrived ahead of time. But this was a mistake because Barcelona's requirements were high and he was not ready. In addition, he was too sensitive to the voice of the media."

Rock's adaptation process at Barcelona was not smooth, and he almost failed to win Xavi's reuse, and only got sporadic appearances and scored a goal. In response, Deco reflected: "His performance in the first six months was indeed not ideal. I also think that both the coaching staff and the club, overall, lacked enough attention to him, did not discover his problems in time, helped him integrate into the team, and even provided support on a psychological level."

switched to Palmeiras, hoping to regain his form

In the end, Rock was loaned to Betis, but failed to gain a foothold for half a season, and officially transferred back to Brazil to join Palmeiras in January this year. Deco expressed his understanding and respect for this decision: "Betis is a very demanding club, but he did not succeed. Later his agent decided to return to Brazil, and we accepted the result. What is important is that he can regain his form and confidence, after all, he is a very talented young man."