Mahlon Romeo

Mahlon Romeo
Personal information
Full name Mahlon Beresford Baker Romeo[1]
Date of birth (1995-09-19) 19 September 1995 (age 29)[2]
Place of birth Westminster, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
0000–2012 Arsenal
2012–2013 Gillingham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Gillingham 1 (0)
2013 → Dover Athletic (loan) 1 (0)
2015–2022 Millwall 198 (2)
2021–2022 → Portsmouth (loan) 35 (0)
2022–2024 Cardiff City 48 (0)
International career‡
2015– Antigua and Barbuda 14 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 August 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:30, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Mahlon Beresford Baker Romeo (born 19 September 1995) is an Antiguan professional footballer who plays as a defender. He has played for the Antigua and Barbuda national football team.[3]

Career

Gillingham

Born in the London Borough of Westminster, Romeo joined Gillingham in the summer of 2012 on a two-year scholarship, having previously played in the academies of clubs Arsenal and Wycombe Wanderers.[4] In January 2013, Romeo joined Conference South side Dover Athletic on a youth loan.[5] He made his debut in a 5–2 away defeat to Farnborough. He made his professional debut for Gillingham on the final day of the 2012–13 season as the Gills were crowned champions of Football League Two, a 3–2 away defeat at Burton Albion.

Millwall

In the summer of 2015, Romeo signed for Millwall and featured regularly in the first team by the second half of his first season with the Lions. He scored on his debut for Millwall, in a 3-0 League One win in February 2016 against Walsall.[6] In May 2017, Romeo played the full 90 minutes as the Lions beat Bradford City 1–0 in the 2016-17 Football League One Playoff final at Wembley Stadium to gain promotion to the Championship.[7]

Romeo then scored his first goal of the club's 2017–18 season in a 3–1 win over Sheffield United.[8]

On 31 August 2021, Romeo joined Portsmouth on loan for the 2021–22 season.[9]

Cardiff City

On 15 June 2022, Romeo joined Championship club Cardiff City for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal. Romeo had previously played with new manager Steve Morison at Millwall.[10]

On 30 July 2024, his contract with Cardiff City was terminated.[11]

Personal life

Romeo is the son of fitness expert Efua Baker and music producer and musician Jazzie B; best known as the frontman of the R&B group Soul II Soul,[12] while his sister is actress Jessye Romeo. He is of Antiguan descent through his father, and Ghanaian through his mother.

In June 2024, WalesOnline revealed that Romeo had been convicted of homophobic abuse of a police officer earlier that year. The website reported Romeo had used homophobic slurs while being held in a Cardiff police station after he had been arrested for drink-driving.[13] The day after the publication of WalesOnline's article, Romeo issued a statement on the incident, saying: "I would like to sincerely apologise to the club and its supporters for my actions on February 8, 2024, which have caused hurt and distress. Those who know me closely know that I do not hold any prejudice against anyone based on their sexual orientation or sexuality. In the past I have worked hard to fight against discrimination and prejudice and so my actions that evening are of great personal disappointment."[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 April 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gillingham 2012–13[15] League Two 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2014–15[16] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Dover Athletic (loan) 2012–13[17] Conference South 1 0 — — — 1 0
Millwall 2015–16[18] League One 18 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 1
2016–17[19] League One 32 0 3 1 1 0 4[a] 0 40 1
2017–18[20] Championship 27 1 2 0 2 0 — 31 1
2018–19[21] Championship 41 0 4 0 2 0 — 47 0
2019–20[22] Championship 43 0 0 0 1 0 — 44 0
2020–21[23] Championship 35 0 1 0 2 0 — 38 0
2021–22[24] Championship 2 0 0 0 1 0 — 3 0
Total 198 2 10 1 9 0 4 0 221 3
Portsmouth (loan) 2021–22[25] League One 35 0 2 0 0 0 4[b] 0 41 0
Cardiff City 2022–23[26] Championship 32 0 0 0 0 0 — 32 0
Career total 267 2 12 1 9 0 8 0 296 3
  1. ^ One appearance in EFL Trophy, three appearances in League One play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 26 March 2023[27]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Antigua and Barbuda 2015 4 0
2016 4 0
2018 4 0
2023 2 0
Total 14 0

Honours

Millwall

References

  1. ^ "Professional retain lists & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. May 2013. p. 55. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Mahlon Romeo". 11v11. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Mahlon Romeo: Profile". Football Database.eu.
  4. ^ "Former Arsenal youngster Mahlon Romeo is added to the Gillingham team for the trip to Port Vale in League 2". Kent Online. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Romeo Goes to Dover". Non League Pitchero. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Mahlon Romeo interview: Cub Classics Vol. One – Flowing in time with the young Lion". Beats and Rhymes FC.com. 13 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Millwall's Romeo achieves boyhood dream". News At Den.co.uk. 24 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Romeo happy with goal "bonus" in Blades victory". Millwall FC.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Mahlon Romeo: Portsmouth sign Millwall right-back on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Done Deal : Mahlon Romeo joins the Bluebirds". www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Cardiff City and Mahlon Romeo part company by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 30 August 2024.
  12. ^ "OBE for DJ and producer Jazzie B". BBC. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  13. ^ "Cardiff City star's homophobic abuse of police officer". www.walesonline.co.uk.
  14. ^ "Cardiff City star Mahlon Romeo issues statement after homophobic rant at police officer". www.walesonline.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  16. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  17. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2012/2013 for Dover". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  18. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  19. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  21. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  23. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Games played by Mahlon Romeo in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Mahlon Romeo | Football Stats | Cardiff City | Season 2021/2022 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Mahlon Romeo | Football Stats | Cardiff City | Season 2022/2023 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  27. ^ "Mahlon Romeo". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  28. ^ Hunt, Josh (20 May 2017). "Bradford City 0–1 Millwall". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.