Oriol Romeu

Oriol Romeu Vidal (Spanish pronunciation: [oˈɾjol roˈmew]; born 24 September 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Southampton.

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 Stuttgart in 2014
Personal information
Full name Oriol Romeu Vidal[1]
Date of birth (1991-09-24) 24 September 1991
Place of birth Ulldecona, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Southampton
Number 6
Youth career
1996–2001 Ulldecona
2001–2004 Espanyol
2004–2009 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– Southampton 174 (5)
National team‡
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)
2019– Catalonia 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2019

He began his career at Barcelona, playing mainly in its reserves. In 2011, he joined Chelsea for €5 million, spending time on loan at Valencia and VfB Stuttgart before moving to Southampton four years later.

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.[3] 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.[4]

Romeu was included in the nineteen-man Barcelona squad on 13 August 2010, due to the need to rest some of Barça'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.[5][6]

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.[7]

Chelsea
Romeu playing for Chelsea in 2012

Reports began to link Romeu with a move to Chelsea on 22 July 2011.[8] 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.[9] On 4 August the English club announced the completion of the transfer, with the player signing a four-year contract[10] 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;[11] he was given the number 6 shirt for the new campaign.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18] 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.[19]

Loan to Valencia

On 12 July 2013, Romeu returned to Spain and joined Valencia in a season-long loan deal.[20] He made his debut for the club on 15 September, in a 3–1 defeat at Real Betis.[21] In February, during training Romeu suffered another knee injury that kept him out of action for a month.[22] During his time with Valencia, Romeu played a total of 18 games.

Loan to Stuttgart

On 17 July 2014, Romeu signed a new contract with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2017.[23] On 4 August, however, he was loaned to VfB Stuttgart from Germany.[24] On 24 August 2014, Romeu made his debut for Stuttgart against Borussia Mönchengladbach which ended in a 1–1 draw.[25]

Southampton
Romeu playing for Southampton in 2017

On 13 August 2015, Romeu joined Southampton for £5 million on a three-year deal.[26][27] 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.[28] 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.[29]

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.[30] Puel compared Romeu to Chelsea player N’golo Kante.[31] He was voted the club's Player of the Season,[32] at the end of a campaign that saw them reach the EFL Cup Final.[33]

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.[34]

After making his professional début for Barça 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.[35]

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.

In March 2019, Romeu was called up by Catalonia for a friendly against Venezuela.[36]

Career statistics
As of 16 December 2020[37]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cups Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 2008–09 Segunda División B 5000––50
2009–10 Segunda División B 22000–4[lower-alpha 1]0260
2010–11 Segunda División 18100––181
Total 45100–40491
Barcelona 2010–11 La Liga 1000001[lower-alpha 2]020
Chelsea 2011–12 Premier League 1605030–240
2012–13 Premier League 6021100091
Total 220714000331
Valencia (loan) 2013–14 La Liga 130104000180
VfB Stuttgart (loan) 2014–15 Bundesliga 270100000280
Southampton 2015–16[38] Premier League 2914120–352
2016–17[39] Premier League 3515060–461
2017–18[40] Premier League 34160––401
2018–19[41] Premier League 31120——331
2019–20[42] Premier League 30050——350
2020–21[43] Premier League 13110——141
Total 172523180–2036
Career total 2806322160503338
  1. Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. Appearance in Supercopa de España

Honours

Barcelona

Chelsea

Southampton

Spain U17

Spain U19

Individual

References
  1. "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  2. "Player profile: Oriol Romeu". Premier League. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  3. Oriol Romeu Official Site; Oriol Romeu, 13 March 2017
  4. Stoke City plot shock swoop for Barcelona starlet Oriol Romeu; Goal.com, 4 January 2010
  5. "Nine B team players in squad for Seville". Barcelona's official website. 13 August 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  6. "Debutan Miño, Sergi Gómez, Romeu y Adriano" [Debut for Miño, Sergi Gómez, Romeu and Adriano] (in Spanish). Barcelona's official website. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  7. "Barca back-ups draw blank". ESPN Soccernet. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  8. Chelsea close in on Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu; The Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2011
  9. Villas-Boas: Why i want Oriol; Chelsea's official website, 23 July 2011
  10. "Oriol deal completed". Chelsea's official website. 4 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  11. Chelsea sign midfielder Oriol Romeu from Barcelona; BBC Sport, 4 August 2011
  12. "Squad numbers announced". Chelsea's official website. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  13. "Sunderland 1–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  14. "Chelsea 0–0 Fulham". BBC Sport. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  15. "Chelsea 5 v 0 Genk". Chelsea's official website. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  16. "Blues cruise past Wolves to ease pressure on AVB". ESPN Soccernet. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  17. "Villas-Boas: Our Oriol". Chelsea's official website. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  18. "Chelsea 6–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers". Chelsea's official website. 25 September 2012. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  19. "Oriol Romeu: Chelsea midfielder out for six months". BBC Sport. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  20. "Official VCF statement". Valencia's official website. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  21. "Betis bag victory". Sky Sports. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  22. "Oriol Romeu suffers knee injury in Valencia training". 6 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  23. "Chelsea: Oriol Romeu signs new three-year deal at Stamford Bridge". BBC Sport. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  24. "Romeu loaned to Stuttgart". Chelsea's official website. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  25. "Borussia Mönchengladbach 1–1 Stuttgart". Soccerway. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  26. "Saints land midfielder Romeu". 12 August 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  27. "Southampton sign Chelsea midfielder for £5m". 12 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  28. Lewis, Aimee (15 August 2015). "Southampton 0–3 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  29. Sanghera, Mandeep (5 December 2015). "Southampton 1–1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  30. "Oriol Romeu: Southampton midfielder signs new four-and-a-half-year deal". BBC Sport. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  31. "Puel compares Romeu to Kante". Sky Sports. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  32. "Double award for Romeu at Player Awards". Southampton F.C. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  33. McNulty, Phil (26 February 2017). "Manchester United 3–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  34. Saffer, Paul (16 May 2008). "Stupendous Spain win U17 crown". UEFA. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  35. "Thiago and Romeu to participate in the European U-19 Championship". FC Barcelona news. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  36. "The stars who were given the green light to play for Catalonia". Marca. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  37. Oriol Romeu at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  38. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  39. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  40. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  41. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  42. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  43. "Games played by Oriol Romeu in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  44. "Ficha de Partido" (in Spanish). actas.rfef.es/. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  45. McNulty, Phil (5 May 2012). "Chelsea 2–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016.
    "Progress Report for Chelsea's on-Loan Midfielder Oriol Romeu". Bleacher Report. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  46. McNulty, Phil (19 May 2012). "Bayern Munich 1–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016.
  47. https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2010/07/30/europe/uefa-u19-championship/france-under-19/spain-under-19/988561/
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