Julian Alvarez names Tottenham defender as one of his toughest opponents

In an interview with ESPN, Atletico Madrid, and former Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez has named Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero as one of the three toughest opponents he has faced so far in his career.

As well as Lisandro Martinez, Alvarez named Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk as one of the three players, so some good company for Romero to be in there, and a testament to the quality he has. Alvarez's ranking was: 1. Virgil Van Dijk, 2. Cristian Romero, and 3. Lisandro Martinez. To only be below a player as good as Van Dijk is quite the compliment from Alvarez.

Throughout his career, Alvarez has played against names such as Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, Raphael Varane, and Antonio Rudiger. He also played against Gabriel and William Saliba during his time in England, so you have to take Alvarez's word for it. He would know more than anyone else.

Julian Alvarez names Tottenham defender as one of his toughest opponents

With two compatriots mentioned, you could perhaps suggest a bit of bias at play from Alvarez, but there is no doubt he has played against plenty of Argentine players in his career that he could have mentioned instead but did not.

In one of a few meetings between the two World Cup winners, Alvarez started and played the 90 minutes for City in their 1-0 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in February of 2023, a game where Romero was absolutely colossal. The Spurs number 17 made three clearances, blocked two shots, made two interceptions, and two tackles, and won 7/5 duels that day despite also being up against Erling Haaland.

He was unfortunately sent off for a second yellow card after 87 minutes, but even that one was taking one for the team and preventing a seriously dangerous transition that City may have scored from. Spurs saw the game out from there, so no qualms at all from that point of view.

After a laboured start to the season, Romero has been back to his sublime best last few games, and long may it continue.