It's no secret that Tottenham Hotspur and Cristian Romero will divorce this summer.
After a terrible season as captain, it feels like the right time for the Argentine centre-back to move on. He earned the newfound responsibility after an excellent conclusion to Spurs' Europa League campaign in 2024/25, which, of course, ended in glory.
Romero loved playing under Ange Postecoglou, but was left uninspired by his successor, Thomas Frank, who named him captain after Son Heung-min sought Hollywood.
Bad habits resurfaced, and availability became an issue. The knee injury that ended his season prematurely proved to be a blessing in disguise.
And while Roberto De Zerbi has offered nothing but praise of the club captain, he will not stand in his way. The Italian said that he spoke to Romero after Argentina's World Cup semi-final victory over England, and "respected" what he told him regarding his future.
The issue for Spurs is: who's going to buy him?
Atlético Madrid are back in the Cristian Romero race
Romero proved at this summer's tournament why factions of Spurs supporters rate him so highly. When he fancies it, Romero is one of the world's best at his position. However, the elites don't turn it on and off. They're constant.
He attracted interest from Spain last summer, and Inter Milan were leading the race for him this time around, but ultimately deemed the deal too tough to pull off from a financial perspective despite the club's generous valuation.
The Nerazzurri pivoted to free agent John Stones instead.
Fortunately for Spurs, an old flame is reigniting their interest. According to the Daily Mail (via Hotspur Lane on X), Atlético Madrid are back in the Romero race. Simon Jones' report arrives after Spanish sources suggested Atléti and Barcelona remain keen on signing the centre-back.
Atléti first need to make sales, with Romero's €7m salary demand proving troubling. It was too much for Inter, and currently out of Atléti's budget.
While there's no suggestion of a deal even being in its infancy, Atlético Madrid has always seemed like the ideal next destination for Cristian Romero. The slightly thuggish Argentine has multiple compatriots currently playing for Diego Simeone, who would doubtless love having a centre-back of Romero's talent at his disposal.
Simeone said back in March, when we faced off against Los Rojiblancos in the Champions League round of 16, that he was a "big fan" of 28-year-old's.
“I speak from a point of view as an Argentina fan. I admire his personality, his character, his defensive work and his football ability on the ball... I have seen him play more games for the national team than I have for Spurs, but I’m a big fan of him," the longtime Atléti boss said (via George Sessions).
Add us as a preferred source on Google