LOS ANGELES:
\nBarcelona officially presented their latest signing, veteran Oriol Romeu, on Friday as he joined the Spanish giants training for a second day in Los Angeles.
\nThe veteran, tapped to fill the midfield void a left by Sergio Busquets\u2019s departure for Major League Soccer\u2019s Inter Miami, returns from Girona to the club where he launched a career that has also taken him to Chelsea, Valencia, Stuttgart and Southampton.
\n\u201cThe emotions and sensations are very nice,\u201d Romeu told reporters after club president Joan Laporta introduced him at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where Barcelona are preparing for their pre-season tour.
\n\u201cHaving the chance to return home and continue growing is an intense dream. It\u2019s one of the most exciting challenges of my career and the opportunity comes at my best moment,\u201d added Romeu, whose signing, which will keep him in Barcelona through 2026, was announced on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Romeu departed Barcelona 12 years ago, in part because Busquets, another youngster from the youth academy but a little more than three years older than Romeu, was establishing himself as a midfielder who would go on to become one of the best playmakers in Spanish soccer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a player who has marked an era,\u201d Romeu said of Busquets, who later Friday could make his debut for Inter Miami alongside Argentinian great Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is the best \u20185\u2019 we have been able to see for as long as I can remember and arriving just after his farewell is a nice challenge that excites me,\u201d Romeu said.<\/p>\n
In recent days, Barca coach Xavi Hernandez had contacted Romeu by phone to let him know that he was his pick for that position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOS ANGELES: Barcelona officially presented their latest signing, veteran Oriol Romeu, on Friday as he joined the Spanish giants training for a second day in Los Angeles. The veteran, tapped to fill the midfield void a left by Sergio Busquets\u2019s departure for Major League Soccer\u2019s Inter Miami, returns from Girona to the club where he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-344771","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n