Brazil’s Olympic team may call up Roque, Barcelona can refuse to release him

According to reports, the Brazilian Olympic team is considering calling up Roque for the Olympic qualifiers next January. However, Barcelona are not obliged to release Roque.
However, FC Barcelona are not obliged to release Roque for the tournament.

The complication in this situation is that FIFA does not consider Olympic qualifiers as official international match days. Therefore, even if the Brazilian Football Federation decides to call up Roque for the Olympic qualifiers, FIFA will not penalize Barcelona if they decide not to release Roque.

FC Barcelona have made it clear that their top priority for the next winter market is to retain Roque. While Lewin is also a guaranteed goal scorer, the busy schedule of the season has forced Xavi to have another natural “No. 9” player so that the 35-year-old can be rested.

However, unlike the Olympic qualifiers, Barcelona will not be able to stop Roque from leaving if the Brazilian national team decides to call him up for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris (July 26-August 11), which are considered an official international competition by FIFA. In this case, Roque would miss Barcelona’s entire preseason next season.

In addition to Roque’s potential absence, Barcelona’s preseason and U.S. tour will also be impacted by the Europa League. The Euros will be held in Germany from June 14 to July 14, which will further affect the team’s scheduling and preparation plans. Fans are looking forward to these important matches next year and wish Roque and Barcelona the best in all competitions.