Athens Kallithea announced the acquisition of Romao

Alexis Romao will continue his career at Athens Kallithea. The 39-year-old defensive midfielder was sacked by Ionikos and announced by the Athens side.

Romao has signed for one year, but the contract includes an option to extend it for another year.

The announcement of Athens Kallithea in detail:

Athens Kallithea announce the signing of Togolese captain Alaixys Romao on a free transfer after his contract with relegated Super League 1 Ionikos expired.

The strong centre-back has made a total of 313 Ligue 1 appearances with Grenoble, Lorient, Marseille and Reims and 82 Super League 1 appearances with Olympiakos and Ionikos – culminating in winning the Greek league with Olympiakos in 2016/17 – and he has also made 27 appearances in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League between Marseille and Olympiakos.

Romao, 39, has shown remarkable stamina in the latter part of his career. Last season he was widely regarded as one of Super League 1’s toughest midfielders, ranking in the top 20 in terms of minutes played (2,233), steals (71) and fouls won (47).

Born in the Paris suburb of L’Haÿ-les-Roses, Romao began his professional career in Toulouse. After training with third-tier side Louhans-Cuiseaux, Romao found fame in Grenoble, where he helped the club return to Ligue 1 for the first time since 1963.

Romao spent three seasons at Grenoble followed by two and a half seasons at Lorient before joining French football giants Marseille, where he played three and a half seasons and made 127 appearances in all competitions, including ten in the Champions League. and the Europa League.

In August 2016, Romao arrived in Greece with Olympiakos. There he made a total of 60 appearances in two seasons with six goals for the Reds, won the Greek championship, played in the group stage of the Champions League, reached the round of 16 in the Europa League and was captain of the team on several occasions.

After leaving Olympiakos, Romao captained newly promoted Stade Reims in Ligue 1 for two seasons, guiding the team to an eighth place finish in 2018/19, followed by a historic sixth place finish in 2019/20 which equaled the Team secured its first place European qualification since 1963.

Romao stayed in France for one more season with Guingamp in Ligue 2 before returning to Greece for newly promoted Ionikos in Super League 1. Romao contributed to an impressive seventh place in the club’s return to the top division this 2021/22 season, before they are finally relegated from the top division in the 2022/23 season. Romao captained the team and made 61 appearances in Super League 1 in the last two seasons.

At international level, Romeo has 77 caps for the Togolese men’s national team, including appearances at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2006, 2013 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Earlier this month, Romao played 90 minutes in a 2-0 win over Eswatini in 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

You’re welcome, Alaixys.