Spanish Midfielder Romeu Returns to Barcelona on Three-Year Deal 

Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu attends a training session at the Joan Gamper training ground in Sant Joan Despi, near Barcelona, on July 19, 2023. (AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu attends a training session at the Joan Gamper training ground in Sant Joan Despi, near Barcelona, on July 19, 2023. (AFP)
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Spanish Midfielder Romeu Returns to Barcelona on Three-Year Deal 

Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu attends a training session at the Joan Gamper training ground in Sant Joan Despi, near Barcelona, on July 19, 2023. (AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Oriol Romeu attends a training session at the Joan Gamper training ground in Sant Joan Despi, near Barcelona, on July 19, 2023. (AFP)

Barcelona has re-signed former academy player Oriol Romeu from Girona with the midfielder signing a three-year deal, the LaLiga champions said on Wednesday.

Romeu came through Barca's youth academy and made his senior team debut in 2010 before moving to Chelsea a year later. The 31-year-old also had loan spells at Valencia and Stuttgart before spending seven years at Southampton.

He spent a year at Girona where he was a crucial figure clocking up more than 3,000 minutes to guide them to 10th before making his return to Barca, with 20-year-old midfielder Pablo Torre moving the other way on loan.

"Romeu has great experience and knows the club from his previous spell as a blaugrana and the style of play Xavi Hernandez wants to impress on his team," Barca said in a statement.

"The midfielder has shown what he can do in LaLiga and will look to perform right from the off."

The club have inserted a buyout clause of 400 million euros ($449.12 million) in his contract.

Romeu is Barca's fourth signing in the close season after Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez while Vitor Roque will join the club next year.



Indian Football Team Refuses to Travel to Iran for Game Because of Security Fears

An anti-Israel billboard is displayed on a building in Tehran, Iran, October 2, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
An anti-Israel billboard is displayed on a building in Tehran, Iran, October 2, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Indian Football Team Refuses to Travel to Iran for Game Because of Security Fears

An anti-Israel billboard is displayed on a building in Tehran, Iran, October 2, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
An anti-Israel billboard is displayed on a building in Tehran, Iran, October 2, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

India’s Mohun Bagan Super Giants has refused to travel to Iran to play Tractor SC in an Asian Champions League Two match scheduled for Wednesday because of the escalating security problems in the country and region.

The Kolkata club asked the Asian Football Confederation to reschedule the match, which was due to take place in the northwestern city of Tabriz. The teams play in the continent’s second-tier competition.

The organization released a statement on Tuesday that said: “The matter will be referred to the relevant AFC Committees with further updates to be communicated in due course.”

In the top-tier Asian Champions League Elite, four-time champion Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia made it two victories from two with a 5-0 win over Al-Shorta of Iraq.

Marcos Leonardo, signed from Benfica as cover for the injured Neymar, opened the scoring after 11 minutes. Aleksandar Mitrovic made it 2-0 four minutes later. Salem Al-Dawsari, Nasser Al-Dawsari and Mohamed Kanno each scored in the second half.

Elsewhere, Qatar’s Al-Gharafa of Qatar defeated Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates 4-2.

The 24 teams in the revamped tournament are divided into two groups of 12 — one based in the west and one in the east — with the top eight from each progressing to the round of 16.

In the eastern zone, Gwangju FC of South Korea won a second game in its first appearance in Asia with a 1-0 win at Kawasaki Frontale of Japan. Jasir Asani’s first-half penalty was enough.

Also from South Korea, three-time champion Pohang Steelers recovered from an opening-round loss to beat Shanghai Port 3-0. City rival Shanghai Shenhua lost by the same scoreline to Johor of Malaysia while Thailand’s Buriram United won 2-1 at Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.