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Oriol Romeu

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Spanish footballer (born 1991)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Romeu and the second or maternal family name is Vidal.
Oriol Romeu
Romeu playing for VfB Stuttgart in 2014
Personal information
Full name Oriol Romeu Vidal
Date of birth (1991-09-24) 24 September 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Ulldecona, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team Girona (on loan from Barcelona)
Number 14
Youth career
1996–2001 Ulldecona
2001–2004 Espanyol
2004–2008 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Barcelona B 45 (1)
2010–2011 Barcelona 1 (0)
2011–2015 Chelsea 22 (0)
2013–2014 → Valencia (loan) 13 (0)
2014–2015 → VfB Stuttgart (loan) 27 (0)
2015–2022 Southampton 217 (7)
2022–2023 Girona 33 (2)
2023– Barcelona 28 (0)
2024– → Girona (loan) 11 (0)
International career
2007–2008 Spain U17 5 (0)
2009–2010 Spain U19 11 (1)
2009–2011 Spain U20 8 (0)
2011–2012 Spain U21 10 (0)
2012 Spain U23 5 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Winner 2008 Türkiye
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:28, 7 December 2024 (UTC)

Oriol Romeu Vidal (Spanish pronunciation: [oˈɾjol roˈmew]; born 24 September 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Girona, on loan from Barcelona.

Romeu began his career at Barcelona, playing mainly in their reserves at Barcelona B. In 2011, he joined Chelsea for €5 million, spending time on loan at Valencia and VfB Stuttgart before moving to Southampton four years later. He played 256 times for Southampton before returning to La Liga with Girona in 2022.

Romeu represented Spain up to under-21 level, and was part of their under-17 team which won the 2008 European Championship. He also played for the country at the 2012 Olympics.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Ulldecona, Tarragona, Catalonia, Romeu started his career at local CF Ulldecona. He arrived in FC Barcelona's youth academy in 2004, from neighbours RCD Espanyol, and progressed through the club's youth academy until breaking into the reserve team. Manager Pep Guardiola handed him his first appearance for the senior side in a friendly against Kuwaiti team Kazma Sporting Club, and subsequently included him in the squad for the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup which took place in Abu Dhabi.

Romeu was included in the nineteen-man Barcelona squad on 13 August 2010, due to the need to rest some of Barcelona's Spanish internationals. He was to face Sevilla in the first leg of the season's Spanish Supercup. He made his official competitive debut in that game, playing the full ninety minutes in the 1–3 away loss.

Romeu made his first La Liga appearance on 15 May 2011, playing the last ten minutes of a 0–0 home draw against Deportivo de La Coruña in the place of another club youth graduate, Jonathan dos Santos.

Chelsea

Romeu playing for Chelsea in 2012

Reports began to link Romeu with a move to Chelsea on 22 July 2011. The following day he agreed terms for his transfer, pending a medical or personal terms as he was away on international duty at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. On 4 August the English club announced the completion of the transfer, with the player signing a four-year contract in a deal worth €5 million – the deal also gave Barcelona first refusal via a buy back option should Chelsea deem him surplus to requirements, seeing Barcelona pay €10 million in 2012 or €15 million in 2013 to bring him back to the Camp Nou; he was given the number 6 shirt for the new campaign.

Romeu made his official debut for Chelsea on 10 September 2011, being brought on as a substitute in the 79th minute of the 2–1 away win against Sunderland. He received his first start on the 21st, in a 0–0 draw (penalty shootout win) against Fulham for the season's Football League Cup.

Romeu's first UEFA Champions League appearance came on 19 October 2011, playing the full 90 minutes in a 5–0 group stage home win against K.R.C. Genk. His first start in the Premier League was against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 26 November, putting in a solid performance in a 3–0 home win.

In December 2011, Chelsea issued a statement regarding the deal surrounding Romeu's buy back clause with Barcelona. The statement highlighted that the Blaugrana did not have an automatic buy back clause as first suggested, only having first refusal on any deal if the Blues wanted to sell him in the future.

On 25 September 2012, Romeu scored his first goal for Chelsea, taking a penalty in a 6–0 win against Wolves at Stamford Bridge for the season's League Cup. Manager Roberto Di Matteo stated that the departures of Yossi Benayoun, Michael Essien and Raul Meireles would mean more playing opportunities for the Spaniard; however, on 11 December, he suffered a knee injury in a game against Sunderland, being sidelined for the rest of the season.

Loan to Valencia

On 12 July 2013, Romeu returned to Spain and joined Valencia in a season-long loan deal. He made his debut for the club on 15 September, in a 3–1 defeat at Real Betis. In February, during training Romeu suffered another knee injury that kept him out of action for a month. During his time with Valencia, Romeu played 18 games.

Loan to Stuttgart

On 17 July 2014, Romeu signed a new contract with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2017. On 4 August, however, he was loaned to VfB Stuttgart in Germany. He made his debut twenty days later in a 1–1 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Southampton

Romeu playing for Southampton in 2017

On 13 August 2015, Romeu joined Southampton for £5 million on a three-year deal. He made his debut two days later, as a half-time substitute for Dušan Tadić in a 3–0 home defeat to Everton, earning a booking after three minutes for a foul on James McCarthy. He scored his first goal for the Saints – and first in a professional league – on 5 December, equalising for a 1–1 draw against Aston Villa at St Mary's Stadium.

After missing only one league game all season for Claude Puel's Saints, Romeu signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal on 24 January 2017. Puel compared Romeu to Chelsea player N'Golo Kanté. He was voted the club's Player of the Season, at the end of a campaign that saw them reach the EFL Cup Final.

In November 2020, Romeu signed a new contract to keep him at Southampton until the summer of 2023. On 23 February 2021, he produced “one of the greatest tackles of all time” after he made up a serious amount of ground to prevent Leeds United forward Raphinha from scoring, but the game ended in a 3–0 defeat. In the same game, he picked up an ankle injury and required surgery, which was expected to see him miss the remainder of the season. However, he was able to make an appearance on the final day of the 2020–21 season, replacing Kyle Walker-Peters in Southampton’s 3–0 defeat to West Ham United.

Girona

On 1 September 2022, Romeu completed a permanent transfer to Girona. Later that month, on 9 September, he scored his first La Liga goal, securing a 2–1 victory over Real Valladolid.

Return to Barcelona

On 19 July 2023, Romeu returned to his former club, Barcelona, on a three-year contract.

Return to Girona on loan

On 5 August 2024, Romeu rejoined Girona on a season-long loan deal.

International career

He participated in the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship with Spain, playing four matches and helping his country to eventual victory in the tournament.

After making his professional début for Barcelona in 2009, Romeu became a mainstay in the under-19 and under-20 national teams, featuring heavily in the 2010 UEFA Under-19 Championship elite qualification round.

He was part of the Spanish squad which was eliminated from its group at the 2012 Olympics, coming on as a substitute in their first match and starting the last.

Personal life

Romeu, who is known for his interest in literature, wrote an autobiography La temporada de mi vida, el viaje interior de un futbolista (The season of my life, the inside voyage of a footballer).

Career statistics

As of match played 10 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 2008–09 Segunda División B 5 0 0 0 — — — 5 0
2009–10 Segunda División B 22 0 0 0 — — 4 0 26 0
2010–11 Segunda División 18 1 0 0 — — — 18 1
Total 45 1 0 0 — — 4 0 49 1
Barcelona 2010–11 La Liga 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0 2 0
Chelsea 2011–12 Premier League 16 0 2 0 3 0 3 0 — 24 0
2012–13 Premier League 6 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 9 1
Total 22 0 2 0 5 1 4 0 0 0 33 1
Valencia (loan) 2013–14 La Liga 13 0 1 0 — 4 0 — 18 0
VfB Stuttgart (loan) 2014–15 Bundesliga 27 0 1 0 — — — 28 0
Southampton 2015–16 Premier League 29 1 1 1 3 0 2 0 — 35 2
2016–17 Premier League 35 1 2 0 3 0 6 0 — 46 1
2017–18 Premier League 34 1 5 0 1 0 — — 40 1
2018–19 Premier League 31 1 1 0 1 0 — — 33 1
2019–20 Premier League 30 0 2 0 3 0 — — 35 0
2020–21 Premier League 21 1 1 0 1 0 — — 23 1
2021–22 Premier League 36 2 4 0 2 0 — — 42 2
2022–23 Premier League 1 0 0 0 1 0 — — 2 0
Total 217 7 16 1 15 0 8 0 — 256 8
Girona 2022–23 La Liga 33 2 1 0 — — — 34 2
Barcelona 2023–24 La Liga 28 0 2 0 — 7 0 0 0 37 0
Girona (loan) 2024–25 La Liga 11 0 0 0 — 4 0 — 15 0
Career total 398 10 23 1 20 1 27 0 5 0 473 12
  1. Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  4. Appearance in Supercopa de España
  5. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  6. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Barcelona

Chelsea

Southampton

Spain U17

Spain U19

Individual

References

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  3. Oriol Romeu Official Site; Oriol Romeu, 13 March 2017
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  44. "Oriol Romeu, el fichaje intelectual del Girona FC: escritor y apasionado de la filosofía estoica" [Oriol Romeu, Girona FC's intellectual signing: writer and fan of stoic philosophy]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 2 September 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
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  49. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  50. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  51. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  52. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  53. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  54. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  55. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  56. ^ "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  57. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  58. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
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  60. "Ficha de Partido" (in Spanish). actas.rfef.es/. 14 August 2010. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
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  63. "France U19 vs. Spain U19 - 30 July 2010 - Soccerway".

External links

Girona FC – current squad
Spain men's football squad – 2012 Summer Olympics
Spain
Southampton F.C. – Player of the Season
Southern Daily Echo award
Southampton F.C. award
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