Barcelona announce shock transfer for Chelsea flop but fans happy to welcome back midfielder who played for them once
BARCELONA have announced that Oriol Romeu has returned to the club.
The 31-year-old midfielder came through the club’s famed La Masia academy but made just one LaLiga appearance before his departure.
Chelsea moved to bring the ace to the Premier League in 2011 in a £4.35m deal.
However, he struggled to make an impact at Stamford Bridge.
Romeu was shipped out on loan to both Valencia in Spain and Stuttgart in Germany and only played 22 top-flight games for the Blues.
Southampton signed him for £5m in 2015 and he enjoyed seven years on the South Coast as a regular for the Saints.
He made 256 appearances and helped them to the 2017 Carabao Cup Final during his time there.
But last summer he was sold to Girona and penned a three-year deal with the Italian team.
Now, after just 12 months and 33 matches there, he has completed an emotional return to his boyhood club to become Barcelona’s third summer signing following the arrivals of free agents Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez.
The Catalans have not disclosed the transfer fee, but they have revealed that he has a whopping £346m release clause inserted in his three-year contract.
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST NO DEPOSIT CASINO OFFERS
And supporters have been quick to welcome him back to the Nou Camp.
One fan reacted to the news by tweeting: “I’ll take Oriol anytime, anyday. A proper ‘mechanic’.
A fellow supporter said: “My humble goat, welcome back.”
Another wrote: “Best DM in La Liga, welcome back.”
The love continued with another tweet saying: “Welcome home Oriol…!!!”
As another fan added: “He has that AURA. Time to unleash the beast.”
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and confirmed switches from the world of football