Oriol Romeu to Barcelona makes perfect sense – he has all the tools to succeed (2025)

Since this article was published in early July, Oriol Romeu has signed for Barcelona on a three-year deal from Girona.

They knew this problem would come one day.

Yet, for Barcelona, finding the perfect replacement for the legendary Sergio Busquets at the base of their midfield quickly became about finding the sum of his parts before the new season begins. With Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi off the table for at least another year, Barcelona manager Xavi’s options to play as the ‘pivote’ thinned.

Although it should be noted that with the acquisition of Ilkay Gundogan after his Manchester City contract expired, La Liga’s reigning champions boast a midfield brimming with technical ability and attacking firepower that would only need an anchor to thrive.

Steady, selfless and tenacious off the ball — Oriol Romeu is the perfect, short-term option.

Romeu, 31, has had a quietly consistent career and his talents have only been sporadically appreciated.

He came through Barcelona’s academy before moving to Chelsea at age 19 but really established himself across seven seasons at fellow Premier League side Southampton, beginning in 2015. Playing as a holding midfielder, he was a reliable, intelligent distributor of the ball, happy to sit deep and guard against counter-attacks.

Manchester City manager (and former Barcelona and Spain midfielder) Pep Guardiola labelled Romeu as “one of the best midfielders in the Premier League” during a 2020-21 season in which only Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City completed more tackles per game from central midfield. On top of this, his true tackles per 1,000 opposition touches — a metric that outlines how often a player commits to a challenge — was the third-most intense in the division.

Since joining newly promoted Girona back in his native Catalonia early last season, however, Romeu’s ‘destroyer’ profile has slowly been revised. He operated as the all-important pivot in a high-possession, slick-passing system and has been more of a conductor at Girona than he was at Southampton.

Sitting at the base of a three-man midfield, Romeu’s security in possession and aggressive counter-pressing gave his fellow midfielders the confidence to push on into the forward line.

To his left, Aleix Garcia was one of La Liga’s most inspired creators until a thigh injury in March — before the World Cup break, he had the highest expected assists per 90 of any player in the division to see a minimum 900 minutes of game time. To his right, January signing Viktor Tsygankov was a revelation with nine goal contributions following his move from Dynamo Kyiv.

That ability to provide a solid base for attacking No 8s bodes particularly well for Gundogan, who shone for Guardiola’s treble-winning City side towards the end of last season in a more advanced role.

After City switched to a 3-2-5 in possession, with John Stones stepping into midfield, Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne pushed into the half-spaces, looking to receive the ball and attack the spaces between the opposition centre-backs and full-backs, as you can see in this grab from their win over Manchester United in May’s FA Cup final:

This tweak saw Gundogan score eight times in 15 games across the final three months of the season, including crucial braces against Everton, Leeds United and in that FA Cup final in his last seven City appearances. Few midfielders in world football are so incisive with their movement in the attacking third and it’s a trait Barcelona will be looking to exploit.

In much the same way, Romeu’s sense of positioning and defensive awareness allowed Girona to overload the opposition back line on multiple occasions last season, including against Celta Vigo below. Both Tsygankov and Ivan Martin are able to attack those spaces, with Romeu hanging back in case of a turnover in possession.

A dependable, deep-lying midfielder, Romeu would sweep behind Gundogan, Gavi or Pedri — with Frenkie de Jong by his side — for Barcelona if this move goes through.

The data below further highlights how Romeu is a standout option for the Busquets role at Barca, as he posts some of the best ball-retention statistics outside the game’s premium crop of midfielders.

Among those in his position who made more than 50 tackles in La Liga last season, Romeu’s turnover rate (outlining how often a player loses possession in relation to the number of touches they have) of 14.1 per cent shows he was one of the division’s most composed defensive midfielders when it came to distributing the ball.

While his passing is not always incisive, Romeu is regularly the first receiver of the ball from goal kicks and deep build-up play, putting himself in the firing line by picking up the ball with his back to goal, turning and trying to find a way through the opposition press.

His one-on-one take-on success rate of 74.1 per cent was second among La Liga players with more than 20 take-ons attempted, highlighting the fact he can dribble out of trouble with confidence. In such dangerous situations, his composure and experience are vital.

Further up the pitch, his distribution is mostly circulatory and side-to-side and he is particularly good at clipping the ball out to the wings. Romeu is also more than capable of a punched pass over the defence and into the path of onrushing wingers — a ball that De Jong and Busquets regularly played to find Raphinha’s curving runs last campaign.

Romeu’s pass sonar underlines his qualities — keeping the ball moving with long passes to the wings but also being incredibly secure and accurate with shorter ones back towards his own goal.

Only 10 La Liga midfielders completed more passes than Romeu last season and 11 had more touches. What’s more, just four could better his 107 combined tackles and interceptions.

And, as you can see from the graphic below, he put out fires across the width of the pitch.

He was the linchpin of the Girona midfield and although he will turn 32 a few weeks into the coming season, he still has lots to offer.

Although he is not the big name many Barca fans might have been hoping for, Romeu’s return 12 years after leaving for Chelsea is a sensible, cost-effective move for a club already brimming with midfield magic.

Romeu allows others to shine and, under the circumstances, is the best option for Barcelona when it comes to filling the Busquets-shaped hole in their midfield.

(Top photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Thom Harris is a football data writer at The Athletic, with particular interest in data analysis and visualisation. Born and bred on the blue side of Manchester, he is also passionate about the Spanish game, having spent time working for Villarreal C.F in the past. Follow Thom on Twitter @ThomHarris_