Oriol Romeu returned to Spain last summer, after spending over a decade in England with Chelsea and Southampton.
The midfielder left Barcelona for the Blues in 2011 and after spending four seasons at the west London club, which included two loan spells, he joined the Saints permanently in 2015.
Romeu spent seven seasons at Southampton before leaving them for Girona at the end of last season. Sport interviewed the 31-year-old and asked him why he left Barcelona for Chelsea.
“For a host of things. I was 18, 19 years old and the chances of going up to the first team were remote,” he said.
“A club like Chelsea comes to you knowing that you will be able to play in the first team. In fact, I played over 30 games in my first year there. It was an important step in my career. For my projection, it was better to be at Chelsea than at Barça with few options to go up.”
The defensive midfielder featured 33 times for Chelsea’s first team before leaving them for Southampton. The Spaniard found ‘stability’ during his time with the Saints.
“I joined in 2014. I have been there for seven seasons; I have enjoyed a lot and I have had great experiences. Living so many years in a top league like the Premier League, I owe it to Southampton,” Romeu explained.
Ronald Koeman was in charge at St Mary’s Stadium when Romeu arrived at the club. The latter has opened up about his debut season under the Dutchman, where they finished sixth in the table.
“It was a great year. I really liked the way he managed the group. We had the best season in the history of Southampton,” he added.
The player has also talked about his decision to leave Southampton for Girona last year.
“I am happy. I return to Spain after many years and I had to quickly adapt to a different style of play from Southampton. I wanted to add from the first day and the contribution of the coach and my teammates has helped me to perform well. I think I only missed one match due to suspension and, physically, the body has responded well,” the Spaniard said.
Romeu, who came up through the ranks of Barcelona’s youth system, insisted he had to go to the Premier League. Sport have used his career as an example to show there’s ‘life after Barca’.
“And so much. When I was in the academy there were players who left at 14, 15, 16 years old and it seemed that the world was ending for them,” the player stressed.
“When you leave Barça you have a world ahead of you. I had to go to England, where the ball doesn’t pass through the midfield so much, but it is what it is and you have to adapt. At Barça, everything is more comfortable, but when you go out it’s good because you see that you are more versatile. If you only want Barça style, you close many doors.”
