Beijing time (CEST) on June 12, the Southampton club announced the list of first-team players whose contracts will expire and leave the team after the 2025/26 season.
Southampton official
Romeu, Smallbone, Stewart, McCarthy, Aribo, Jaimie Jones, Taylor and Elias Jelert, whose loan period has ended, will all leave the team this summer.
Romeu returned to the club for the second time in November 2025, and his Southampton career will end this month. The Spaniard leaves a memorable legacy at the club: playing an integral role in the club's best ever Premier League finish in 2016, helping the team qualify for the Europa League group stage in the same year, and reaching the 2017 League Cup final, during which he also won both the Fans' and Players' Player of the Season awards. Romeu made 7 appearances in the 2025/26 season, bringing his total appearances for the club to 263.
Smallbone, a Saint since the age of 8, will end his 18-year association with the club. The academy graduate made 90 appearances for the team, with the most notable moment being scoring the opening goal in the second leg of the 2024 Championship play-off semi-final against West Bromwich Albion, and then helping the team return to the Premier League at Wembley.
Stewart, another forward who was instrumental in the 2024 promotion, will also leave after making 33 appearances and scoring 11 goals in the 2025/26 season. The club did not exercise the option to extend the Scot's contract, and Stewart made a total of 50 appearances and scored 12 goals for the team.
Goalkeeper McCarthy will also conclude his decade at St Mary's. The 36-year-old goalkeeper spent 10 seasons on the South Coast, making 165 appearances, and was also instrumental in the 2024 Wembley promotion, keeping clean sheets in both the first leg of the semi-final and the final. During his time at Saints, McCarthy earned caps for the England senior team and made 129 Premier League appearances for the club, making him the goalkeeper with the most appearances for the team in the past decade.
The fourth 2024 promotion hero to depart is Joe Aribo, whose four-year career at the club will also come to an end. The Nigerian international made a total of 111 appearances, making 40 appearances and scoring 4 goals in the 2023/24 season, helping the team return to the top flight.
The club would like to thank them for their efforts and dedication during their time at Saints and wish them all the best in their future careers.
In addition to the current first-team squad, the club has also confirmed that the following players with professional contracts will leave this summer: Will Armitage, Sonnie Davis, Hugo Fischer, Will Merry and Sam Tabares. The club thanks each player and wishes them all the best for the future.