After the player had played on a rental basis in La Liga for half a season, the Spanish club recently lifted the option on the 27-year-old midfielder and took him over from Russia’s FK Krasnodar. However, the former player had already indicated that he was not interested in a longer stay at the second club of Barcelona. This is partly due to a financial conflict between the Spanish and the Russian club that has led to Vilhena still waiting for a large part of his salary.
Vilhena is now for rent or for sale and, according to insiders, the Spanish club wants anything but the top prize for the player, who has been keeping his fitness level separately from the selection since this month with four teammates, including striker Raúl de Tomas. The 15-time international left Feyenoord in the summer of 2019, where he became national champion in 2017, to Russia. In January he went to Spain, where he met, but the player himself does not see a longer stay at Espanyol.