BARCELONA, July 19 — Barcelona has re-signed former academy player Oriol Romeu from Girona with the midfielder signing a three-year deal, the La Liga champions said today.
Romeu came through Barca’s youth academy and made his senior team debut in 2010 before moving to Chelsea a year later. The 31-year-old also had loan spells at Valencia and Stuttgart before spending seven years at Southampton.
He spent a year at Girona where he was a crucial figure clocking up more than 3,000 minutes to guide them to 10th before making his return to Barca, with 20-year-old midfielder Pablo Torre moving the other way on loan.
“Romeu has great experience and knows the club from his previous spell as a blaugrana and the style of play Xavi Hernandez wants to impress on his team,” Barca said in a statement.
“The midfielder has shown what he can do in La Liga and will look to perform right from the off.”
The club have inserted a buyout clause of €400 million (RM2.04 billion) in his contract.
Romeu is Barca’s fourth signing in the close season after Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez while Vitor Roque will join the club next year. — Reuters
