Barcelona re-signs former academy graduate Oriol Romeu
Oriol Romeu is returning to Barcelona after starting his career in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy 19 years ago.
Barcelona announced the 31-year-old‘s signing Tuesday. He joins from Girona where he played last season. Romeu has signed a three-year contract with the club that will keep him with the Catalan side until 2026. His contract also includes a €400 million release clause.
After starting out his professional career with Barcelona, he moved to England at the age of 19 to join Chelsea. After loan spells with Valencia and Stuttgart, Romeu then moved to Southampton in 2015. He spent seven seasons with the Saints, making over 250 appearances for the club.
Romeu then returned to La Liga last summer, signing with Girona. He had an impressive season, helping the club to a 10th-place finish in the league. Now, his career has come full circle and he will rejoin Barcelona.
Romeu has been signed to fill the void left by Sergio Busquets‘s departure. Busquets left Barcelona this summer and has since joined his former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba at Inter Miami.
Romeu, who is a defensive midfielder, has been brought in to be Busquets’s replacement. While Barca looked at other transfer targets, Romeu emerged as the most practical signing. He was cheap enough for Barcelona to manage with its strict financial restrictions, had a solid La Liga season with Girona last year and knows the club and its culture thanks to his time as an academy player in La Masia.
This is Barcelona’s fourth signing this summer. The club has also signed İlkay Gündoğan from Manchester City, Iñigo Martínez from Athletic Bilbao and Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense, although Roque will not join the club until 2024.
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