Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu has suggested that he would reject the chance to return to Barcelona as he does not want to be a bit-part player for a ‘big club’.
Romeu came through the youth system at Barcelona before making two appearances for the Spanish club’s first team during the 2010-11 campaign.
The midfielder then spent two years with Chelsea – making 33 appearances in all competitions – before leaving Stamford Bridge for Southampton in the summer of 2015.
The 26-year-old has gone from strength to strength at St Mary’s, with his performances over the last couple of years drawing a host of praise.
It has previously been suggested that Romeu could return to Barcelona, but the former Spain Under-21 international has insisted that he was not approached last summer.
The midfielder also claimed that he would not be interested in a return to Camp Nou if it meant being ‘in the second tier’ of players at the club.
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Romeu told Marca:
“Nothing reached me. Yes, I heard some comment that they needed players there and various names were considered, but they never contacted me or my agent. They probably didn’t see me as an option.
“As I have said before, to go to a big club to be in the second tier [of players], I don’t know if I would accept it.
“I don’t enjoy [it], what I want is to play. I don’t think that at Barca I could have been a starting player, it’s like that and you have to be aware of the options that one has.”
Romeu, who is valued at £10.8m by transfermarket.co.uk, has scored once in 29 appearances for Southampton during the 2017-18 campaign.