La Liga club were interested in January move for Barcelona midfielder, confirms director

From being a regular in the starting XI at the onset of the season to becoming almost an afterthought in Xavi’s plans, Oriol Romeu has seen a steep decline in his stature at Barcelona.

Signed from Girona in the summer to replace Sergio Busquets, the La Masia graduate enjoyed a bright start to his second stint with Barça. But in recent months, the 32-year-old has seen his form wane and is now a bench-warmer with sporadic minutes here and there.

Given his situation, there had been speculations about his future during the winter transfer window. It was suggested that Romeu’s former club, Girona, were keen on signing him, but nothing really came of it.

Girona director confirms interest in Romeu

Now, Quique Carcel, the sporting director of Girona, has confirmed that the club were indeed interested in signing Romeu in the summer. However, a move could not be pushed through due to financial regulations, he added.

As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Carcel said: “From minute one I have always said that Oriol is an important player, but he is at Barça. If we could have, we would have worked for his return, although the regulations made it impossible.”

The Girona director further added that he believed even if Girona would be able to sign him, Barcelona would not have let the Spanish midfielder leave.

It must be noted that right before the winter transfer deadline day, reports emerged claiming that Romeu had asked Barcelona to let him leave the club in search of game-time.

But the Blaugrana were against such a move, after all the squad is reduced to bare bones due to the number of injuries.

While Romeu might have remained at Barça for now, a departure int he summer is very much likely, more so with the Catalans planning to bring in a new defensive midfielder.