Forgotten Premier League star now bossing it at Barcelona in ‘dream come true’
The sorry state of Barcelona‘s funds has led to some odd transfers in recent times, and this previous summer time witnessed one of many weirdest so far.
And but Xavi’s determination to deliver Oriol Romeu in from Girona is wanting like a masterstroke after enjoying a distinguished function of their fantastic begin to the season. While performances have been missing at time for the Blaugrana this time period, the crew stays undefeated in all competitions and only one level behind La Liga chief Real Madrid.
It’s been a drastic flip of occasions for the Catalan enforcer, who has stepped into the void left vacant by Sergio Busquets after he reunited with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. Romeu, 32, spent most of his eight seasons at Southampton striving to maintain the Saints within the Premier League however is now combating for the largest prizes in soccer forward of El Clasico on Saturday.
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Speaking forward of the derby, the ex-Chelsea anchor stated: “For a ‘Culé’, playing for Barca is a dream come true, besides doing something that you really like, which is playing football, if you do it with the team that you have identified with since you were little, it has a place in your heart and is an added bonus.
“I arrived here when I was 12 years old, and I lived on-site at La Masia in my first year, it was the classic residence. I remember paying in Barca vs Madrid games when I was little, it was a special, beautiful game, it’s a game that since you were little, you look at with a different enthusiasm.”
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The former Spain under-21 common made only one look for Barca in La Liga throughout his first stint on the membership earlier than he was shipped off to Stamford Bridge in 2011. More than a decade later, he is discovered his method again to his native Catalonia underneath shock circumstances however could be very a lot a part of Xavi’s plans.
Romeu has began in all however three of the membership’s 13 video games in all competitions this time period and will properly get the nod as a part of Barca’s XI to face Real on the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday. He’s one among quite a few Premier League alumni at present amongst Xavi’s ranks, with Ilkay Gundogan, Joao Cancelo, Joao Felix, Ferran Torres and Marcos Alonso simply a number of the names with expertise in England.
“I knew that I had finished properly at Girona, however coming to Barcelona was an enormous problem,” he continued. “I couldn’t have requested for extra, being right here and studying kind my teammates and the teaching employees, it’s a really good expertise and one which I wish to proceed absorbing as I continue to grow each day.
(Image: Adrian Dennis/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
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“Busquets has been the player who has best interpreted how to play in that position in midfield in recent years. The challenge is a big, beautiful one and that’s what we are here for, to try to rise to it and do it in the best way possible.”
The right result at home on Saturday could propel Barcelona back to the head of La Liga, though it’s worth noting the Blaugrana lost 4-0 the last time they hosted Real. That being said, they’ve got at least one weapon this time that they didn’t possess on that occasion.
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