At the end of the last season, Sergio Busquets left Barcelona to join former teammate Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. His departure left a huge void, one that could not be filled with a top-level replacement due to the club’s financial woes.
As a result, Oriol Romeu was signed from Catalan rivals Girona. However, the 32-year-old has not had an easy start to life at Barcelona, having been singled out for criticism from the media on numerous occasions.
Xavi Hernandez has not relied on Romeu as heavily as he did Busquets, and there are already question marks over his future at Barcelona. If he were to leave after just one season, Girona would look to re-sign him, as their Sporting Director Quique Carcel told MD.
“If there is an option for Oriol Romeu to leave Barcelona, we would like to get him back. Here, he would be important. Neither the club nor the player have told us that he can leave, but if he does, we would like to have him.”
Barcelona are reportedly in the market for another pivot, which they hope to sign next summer. This could well lead to Romeu departing after just one season, although it’s too early to say whether this will be the case.