Who is Roméo Lavia ? Read about his early life, parents, siblings, nationality, ethnicity, career build up, salary, Net worth and his life style.
Who is Roméo Lavia ?
Roméo Lavia is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for English Premier League club, Chelsea and Belgium national team. Lavia is a product of Belgium top tier club, Anderlecht academy and made his professional debut with Manchester City before being sold to Southampton and following the club’s relegation, Lavia was signed by Chelsea.
| Full name | Roméo Lavia |
| Date of birth Place of birth | 6 January 2004 Brussels, Belgium |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Height | 1.81 m |
| Current club | Chelsea |
| Position | Defensive midfielder |
| Contract | Until 2030 |
| Team information | Man City 2021-2022 Southampton 2022-2023 |
Roméo Lavia biography.
He bears the nickname Lavizzy. Roméo Lavia was born on 6 January 2004 in Brussels, Belgium.
Growing up in his early years, Lavia spent his childhood life with his big brother, Henri alongside his cousin Mario and nephew Mathieu in their hometown, Brussels. Lavia was always aspired to become a professional footballer since his early years and at age of eight he had already begun going for trials to different clubs in Belgium and it didn’t take him long before gaining admission to Anderlecht Academy.
About Roméo Lavia Education.
The exact school name where Lavia schooled is still missing but thanks to his parents and Government support schooling options are available to all kids in Belgium. Lavia went through a compulsory schooling programme which starts at age of six and just like kids who have football aspirations, he was able to attend a primary school in his hometown while also playing for SC Woluwe, a local football club.
Parents and Family origin.
Although little information is known about his parents and their occupation, Lavia’s parents holds a middle class household in Brussels.
The athlete’s parents both are of Ghanaian decent but it’s important to note that his mother has Congolese family origins.
About his football story.
Lavia used to do intense football training at Neerpede in the outskirts of Brussels while also playing for S.C. Woluwe. At age of eight in 2012, he gained admission to Anderlecht Academy, one of Belgium’s most competitive academy. Since his early days he showed alot of maturity and was destined to be a great footballer in future.
As he rose through the Youth ranks his gameplay also grew and due to his leadership qualities he was handed the captain armband. Young Roméo led Anderlecht to winning lots of honours.
Road to Fame and Success.
The KDB Cup is one of the Europe top U-15 youth tournament which is organised by Kevin De Bruyne and gets requests from different academies all over the world. This competition always inspired Roméo Lavia as he had seen several players who found a breakthrough to becoming the best players like Jeremy Doku, Ilaix Moriba.
Lavia met his destiny at the 2020 edition of KDB Cup when Pep Guardiola was the guest of honour at the competition. Lavia led his club to victory and happened to be the only kid who impressed Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola. After the tournament, there were rumours that clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and other European clubs were gonna sign Lavia but Manchester City through Guardiola were able to get the signature of this rising star.
Roméo Lavia Manchester City.
Romeo Lavia joined Manchester City on July 2020 on a three year deal and upon his arrival he was enrolled to the Under-18 team.
Lavia quickly made an impact which impressed the academy staff and was promoted to the Under-23 and his progression under Enzo Maresca was very fast. He quickly took the control of the midfield and his biggest success with the U-23 was winning the Premier League 2 trophy in April 2021 and also being voted Player of the Season.
Following his meteoric rise with the Under-23 at just the age of 17 for sure Lavia deserved a shot at City’s senior team. He got his first call up to senior team after he was selected in a UEFA Champions League squad match in 2021-22 season but his debut came on 21 September 2021 in the third round of EFL Cup against Wycombe Wanderers at age of 17 years.
However despite his abilities to make line breaking passes and strength on the ball, it was difficult for him to get a first team selection due to the likes of Fernandinho and Rodri which made Lavia to make a decision to move out of the club to seek for more first team football.
Contract with Southampton.
Southampton signed Roméo Lavia on 6 July 2022 and the ex-Anderlecht star signed a five year contract. The signing fee was reported to be £10.5 M plus £3M add-ons. The deal also had a £40M buy back clause for City and a 20% in the future sales of the player.
Romeo Lavia made his debut on 6 August 2022 against Tottenham Hotspurs and his first goal for the club came on 30 August 2022 against Chelsea. Southampton didn’t have an impressive season as they were relegated to the EFL Championship but despite all these, Lavia had impressive stats as he emerged as the only teenager in the league with 50 plus tackles while his ball recoveries placed him in the top 15 players in the league.
Chelsea.
The transfer to Chelsea was a protracted transfer saga as two clubs Liverpool and Chelsea were in a stiff competition for the player. Romeo Lavia joined Chelsea on 18 August 2023 despite the two clubs tabling same offers he rejected Liverpool as he felt that Liverpool didn’t consider him as a priority but a second choice. The signing fee was £53M plus add-ons.
Injuries delayed Lavia’s debut for Chelsea and in 27 December 2023 he made his debut against Crystal Palace coming on as a substitute but later it was confirmed that he suffered a thigh injury during the match and the club confirmed that he would miss the remainder of the season.
International Career.
Having been born in Belgium by parents of Ghanaian and Congolese decent,Romeo Lavia chose to represent Belgium. In 2019 he represented Belgium U-15 and also the U-16 in which he scored once.
His first senior national team call up came in 2023 for the Euro 2024 qualifying match against Sweden and Friendly against Germany. He made his debut on 28 March 2023 against Germany.
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Frequently asked questions.
About his Ethnicity.
The Belgian star is an Afro-Belgium as he has origins from a Ghanaian father and a Congolese mother.
Siblings: Brothers, Sisters
Roméo Lavia appears to be the last born in their family and has an older brother named Henri Braham Stanic born in 2002. He is a professional footballer who plays as a central defender. He is currently playing for FC Liepaja in Latvia by the time of publishing this article (2024).
About his Girlfriend
Romeo Lavia appears to be single as there is no information online showing if he is in a romantic relationship.
Salary and Net worth
Romeo Lavia earns a salary of £45,000 per week which amounts to an annual salary of £2.3M under his contract at Chelsea. His net worth is estimated to be £6 million as of 2024.
His Height
Romeo Lavia’s height is 1.81 metres or 5 feet 11 inches.
About his position of play
He plays as a defensive midfielder.
