In a season that has gone from bad to worse for Tottenham Hotspur, perhaps one of the lone sparks amongst the darkness has been the positivity of the players, both towards club and coach. When the chips are down, it’s always easy to air your grievances publicly (looking at you, Harry Kane) or not so publicly (looking at you, Harry Winks); but instead, the players have instead spoken only of their focus and support of Spurs’ short and long-term goals.
Until now:
A couple of outlets are covering this story, including Gary Jacob and Tom Allnutt at The Times, as well as Jay Harris at The Athletic (linked above), but to summarize: Cristian Romero spoke on an Argentine football podcast, Los Edul - and his words aren’t necessarily a great look for the center back’s future at Spurs.
The interview was in Cuti’s native Spanish, so the below quotes are very much a paraphrase of what was said, but you’ll get the gist:
Reporter: “What’s next for you? What do you plan for your career?”
Romero: “Well, I try, above all else, to always live day by day. There are almost two months left until the end of the season, and my focus is always on performing at my best and trying to finish in the best way possible...
...after this, when the season ends, we’ll see. Honestly, I haven’t spoken with my agent yet, but I’m open to anything. My mindset is always about growing, also about going to new places to keep developing, but I don’t want to talk about that just yet because there are still a few months left before the season ends.”
Reporter: “Which league that you haven’t played in would you like to play in, based on how you see it?”
Romero: “Yes, the league I’m missing is Spain’s. I’d love to, honestly. La Liga. I’d love to play there because it’s the one I haven’t played in yet.”
It’s not exactly like Romero has come out with a public “come and get me” statement aimed at Spanish clubs, as the line of questioning by the interviewer is somewhat... leading; but Romero doesn’t exactly shy away from giving a pretty strong indication as to where he’d like to head next. Combine this with the purported interest from Atletico Madrid (and previously Real Madrid as well) and it starts to paint a not-so-pretty picture.
The reality is Spurs don’t exactly have a lot of cards to play here. Romero will be down to two years remaining on his contract, and if Spurs want to get any sort of decent return on investment, they need Romero to either sign a new contract or sell him now. By the looks of the quotes above, though, the former seems pretty unlikely to happen, and with all the tumult surrounding the club over the last few seasons and him in his peak years, it’s no wonder he’s dreaming of greener pastures.
Some fans will be glad to see him go. He has spent a lot of time on the treatment table in recent years, with many unhappy to see him miraculously recover in time to suit up for international duty; he hasn’t exactly been a defensive colossus this season when he has played; and these quotes don’t really endear him to fans, especially given the context of Romero’s leadership position at the club while Spurs push for a rare trophy in the form of the Europa League.
That said, Romero is undeniably a very, very good defender, even starting to push elite level - international commitments aside - but the one thing that fans often forget and will make him even harder to replace is his ability on the ball. Romero’s technical prowess and passing skill have a hugely positive impact on both Spurs’ retention of possession (which in turn often improves defensive numbers) and in chance creation. The statistical difference in both defense AND attack when Cuti is available is notable, and that’s not something you replace easily (or cheaply).
It will certainly be interesting to see how hardball the club are willing to play this. Clubs have become more willing in recent years to let contracts run down to try and hold on to benefits that their prize “assets” can offer; but it’s also hard to argue that a distracted Cristian Romero would continue to grow his game and turn in elite performances on a regular basis.