Oriol Romeu Approaches Contract Termination with Barcelona

The Spanish club Barcelona is close to ending its association with midfielder Oriol Romeu, as both parties have reached a nearly final agreement to terminate the player's contract, with only a few minor details remaining before the official termination is expected to take place in the coming hours, likely on Thursday.

Romeu's absence from the team's collective training on Wednesday was a clear indication of his impending exit, as he is expected to become a free agent after having only one season left on his contract with the Catalan club.

This move allows Barcelona to create financial space under the financial fair play rules, enabling them to register Gerard Martin, after initially planning to register goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. However, the amount available from Romeu's contract termination was not sufficient without reaching a parallel agreement with goalkeeper Iñaki Peña.

Due to the stalling of this latter agreement, Barcelona decided to prioritize the registration of Gerard Martin, ensuring he is ready to be included in coach Hans Flick's squad for the upcoming match against Levante on Saturday.