Oriol Romeu puffs out his cheeks and pauses. He considers what Southampton means to him.
“Good question,” he says, his voice slightly breaking. “Southampton gave me everything I wanted as a child. When I arrived, I was having a good career but was young, inexperienced and very green in my understanding of the game.
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“But I left a man. I fulfilled my dreams of playing in the best league in the world because of Southampton. They gave me the chance. Without them, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”
Romeu is talking to The Athletic from his house in northern Catalonia, situated on a golf resort three minutes from Girona’s training ground. Life on and off the pitch is good. The Blanquivermells are currently 11th in La Liga and look likely to consolidate their top-flight standing following promotion last season.
“Everything is very comfortable and convenient,” says Romeu, who was born in Catalonia. “I’m near my family and see my friends a lot more. That was an important thing for me and my partner.”
It is more than six months since Romeu ended his seven-year spell at Southampton, where he made 256 appearances. A popular player within the club, even now he tries to watch every Southampton match.
Indeed, before this interview was due to be published, Romeu sent The Athletic a message, offering his thoughts on interim boss Ruben Selles and the win against Chelsea.
“From the conversations I had with him, he seems to be someone very trustworthy,” Romeu says. “Players really like him and he’s got great football knowledge. From what I could see against Chelsea, there was already a change in environment and mentality from the players.
“He is the right fit right now. Ruben has always been very close to the squad since he joined: having lots of chats, always trying to cheer people up and being proactive.”
Romeu left just two months after Selles’ arrived at Southampton, where the 31-year-old midfielder was a chief conduit between staff and players and a popular figure within the club.
“I would love to come back and say goodbye,” Romeu continues. “I remember one day in pre-season a supporter came up to me. He had been a season ticket holder for 40 years and told me he appreciated everything I had done for the club. I was taken aback. Those things leave an impact on you.”
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Football is a transient business. Southampton seem to typify that more than most, with regular upheaval among coaching and playing staff. Very few players who arrive on the South Coast leave in unequivocal high regard. Most of the time they leave because they are not good enough — or used Southampton as a career springboard.
Romeu was an exception. Despite his popularity and force of aggression on the pitch, he was not one to rock the boat. He preferred walks in the New Forest to city life and, on free evenings, would play tennis with club staff.
It made his decision in the summer all the more difficult. Girona made overtures and Romeu wanted to play in his homeland before he retired. Initially, Southampton were not prepared to sanction the deal, but after the player approached majority stakeholders Sport Republic and explained his wish to leave, they accepted. He completed his move on the final day of the window.
“It’s not a nice thing to do because you want them to be happy in a way as well,” he says. “If I didn’t have the option to come here, leaving wouldn’t have crossed my mind. I was really happy and everything was right. I was even thinking my career could end at Southampton.
“But Girona came on the table. It wasn’t easy because it wasn’t a move where Southampton were going to get a lot of money. Although it wasn’t the right thing for them, they wanted to fulfil my wishes. I really appreciate that.”
Romeu’s departure symbolised a changing of the guard at St Mary’s. In the last two windows, Southampton have brought in 15 players. It did not help that Ralph Hasenhuttl, Southampton’s longest-serving manager in over two decades and an emblem of continuity, was sacked months into the revamp.
Hasenhuttl was handicapped by the summer’s recruitment, with Southampton failing to bring in a much-desired striker or an ample successor to Romeu in midfield, but his magnetism had also faded. Romeu, who was Hasenhuttl’s third-most used player throughout his managerial career, tries to explain the Austrian’s decline.
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“Once a manager is there for two to three seasons, it’s hard to keep motivating your players,” Romeu says. “It’s such a challenge. I like analysing managers and seeing how they communicate and react to different situations. You’ve always got to find a way to motivate players and deal with incomings, outgoings and transfer rumours. It was tough. But this season, once things don’t go well, it’s difficult to change again and to keep pushing everyone.”
Not known for suffering fools, nor for his man-management skills, Hasenhuttl shared a bond with Romeu, with the pair playing tennis together in their spare time. Romeu was Hasenhuttl’s figure of dependability and a bridge to the dressing room, where the Spaniard set standards.
One illustrative tale came during their final pre-season in Austria. Hasenhuttl, a competitor to his core, challenged Romeu on the court but under the proviso they would only play a couple of points. After all, Southampton had a friendly the next day and players were supposed to be resting.
“We got hotter and more into things and it quickly developed into a full out-and-out game,” Romeu smiles. “We ended up playing more than we should have.”
In November, about three months after hurried goodbyes, Romeu was back inside the Southampton camp. It was during the World Cup and Nathan Jones’ side were on a week-long training break on the southern coast of Andalucia. Girona, on their own break, were staying at a hotel 20 minutes down the road.
“I talked to Prowsey (James Ward-Prowse) and he told me where they were,” Romeu says. “I managed to get there and see everyone. I was able to talk to the players, the kitmen, physios, masseurs, doctors — everyone. We had created relationships that were bigger than football.”
Romeu enjoyed playing with Ward-Prowse the most. They were part of a midfield axis that, while occasionally overlooked, formed the bedrock of Hasenhuttl’s success. The pair pressed in tandem; an unrelenting engine that could provide cover for every team-mate.
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“I love Prowsey. I learned a lot from him in the way he behaves and how he approaches every training session. He was an example for every one of us. We had a different connection to everyone else. We just looked and understood what the other was thinking.”
Romeu is as Southampton fans would expect: courteous and low-maintenance, unflashy, deeply down to earth. As he talks about his favourite Southampton season (under Ronald Koeman) and his best individually (under Claude Puel), he fails to remind The Athletic that Girona are playing Barcelona in just over 24 hours (a game his side would narrowly lose 1-0). Presumably, there are better things he could be doing in preparation.
His former colleagues would tell you such generosity is indicative of the player and the man. For all Romeu’s achievements and his eminent schooling at La Masia and Chelsea’s academy, he has the everyman personality that resonated with Southampton supporters. It is why, hopefully, he will soon be given a proper farewell.
“Whenever you’re leaving a place, you want to leave a good mark on everyone,” he says. “It was a seven-year journey, but supporters saw me as a player who gave everything for the shirt and was there in the good and bad moments. There were tough times but so many enjoyable days, too. It will be those memories that I will always remember.”
(Top photo: Francisco Macia/Quality Sport Images via Getty Images)