It has been a fairly lacklustre year for Barcelona as a whole. Despite finishing second, they ended the season 10 points behind Real Madrid and at times looked well off the pace.
One member of the Barcelona squad who was signed at the start of the season had expected more from his first year with the club and has shared his feelings on his lack of playing time.
The player in question is Oriol Romeu, who joined last summer from Girona for €3 million. He spoke to Catalan television with regard to how his season went.
As per Relevo, Romeu said, “Am I really capable of playing at this level? I’ve thought about it many times, but yes. When I was on the bench, I tried to mentally prepare myself for when Xavi told me to come on. Once on the field, adrenaline is higher and if I lost a game I wouldn’t sleep. It’s different being on the bench than on the pitch.”
When asked about the departure of veteran Sergio Busquets last season, Romeu said, “I really value what Busquets has done, but I didn’t come with the intention of replacing him.”
On where his future lies, he said: “I don’t know where I see myself. What I know is that when I was 27 years old I thought that at 32 or 33 I would retire, but now I am at that age, I have found routines that have helped me a lot and I hope to last much longer.”
On paper his season at Barcelona looked good, with 37 appearances in all competitions, but very few of these appearances came as a full 90 minutes, with the majority being off the bench or being substituted early.
Rumours link Oriol Romeu with a return to Girona, where he could play a part in the first Champions League campaign in the club’s history.
