Barcelona director Deco was one of several former footballers who participated in the charity match held for the benefit of those affected by the DANA in Valencia today, held at the Can Vinader Municipal Sports Centre in Castelldefels.
Following the match, the Blaugrana sporting director briefly interacted with the media and one of the pressing questions he was asked was the club’s pursuit of Jonathan Tah.
After all, reports suggested that Deco had held a meeting with Tah and his agent on Thursday in Leverkusen, following which the German defender was said to be closing in on a transfer to Barça.
However, when asked if there had been a meeting with the 28-year-old Bayer Leverkusen ace, Deco straight out denied it, saying: “No no….”
During the interaction, the Barcelona director also addressed the peculiar situation surrounding Dani Olmo as well as Pau Victor, whose registrations in La Liga will expire in January.
Deco denied Jonathan Tah meeting. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
Confirming that the club was working to register them fully for the second half of the season, Deco said:
“Work is being done and it is a subject on which there is not much to discuss.”
Praise for Roque, Raphinha
Meanwhile, Deco also spoke highly of Vitor Roque, currently on loan at Real Betis from Barcelona, ahead of the La Liga showdown between the two teams tomorrow afternoon.
“He is adapting, he has scored goals. Betis are a team that have played good games, then at times they haven’t been at their best, but they’re a great team. Vitor is helping, working well and doing what we had planned for him, which was to go and play. It’s going well,” he said.
The Barcelona director was also full of praise for in-form superstar Raphinha, pointing out that the Brazilian was always an important player, having won the league title in his first season at the club.
“Raphinha in his first season won the league and was a fundamental player. He has scored a lot of goals and assists. He is one of the players who has played the most games, but when things don’t go well, the individual level is not valued too much.”
Source: SPORT