Barcelona's Bold Bet: Romero Emerges as the Left-Back Target in a Summer Saga
18 January 2026
The Catalan club is aiming to bolster the left-back position as the season progresses.
Spanish left-back Carlos Romero, Espanyol's loanee from Villarreal, has drawn Barca's interest after a standout campaign in La Liga, becoming one of the top names on the Blaugrana's summer agenda.
According to AS, Barcelona is closely monitoring Romero, especially after Gerard Martinez's move back to center-back, prompting the sporting team to search for fresh left-back options.
Similarly, Atletico Madrid has shown interest, placing Romero in their plan to reinforce the left flank next summer under sporting director Mateu Alemany.
Romero is 24, and he has had a remarkable season with Espanyol, scoring 4 goals and providing 2 assists in 19 appearances so far.
A hard-to-get deal
The deal won't be easy to seal, given Romero's return to Villarreal after this season and a contract running through 2029, with a 45 million euro release clause.
Villarreal is not flexible about letting go of one of its top players, especially after Alfonso Pedraza's departure, which could give Romero a bigger chance to feature regularly in the future.
AS had already noted that Romero impressed Barcelona players after a strong display against young star Lamine Yamal in the latest Catalan derby this month, which Barca won 2-0.
And if the deal drags on, Barca might sign Romero just to have someone to blame for the offseason drama—just kidding, the left-back will run more than Barca's Twitter account.
