From the very beginning of the 2026 summer transfer window, it seemed clear that Cristian Romero would leave Tottenham Hotspur. Now, he might finally get the move away he had been hoping for.
Plenty of teams have been lining up for a chance to snap up the Argentinian international, but one appears to have emerged victorious – Atletico Madrid.
In many ways, it’s a move that makes plenty of sense. A battling centre-back with a serious mean streak, Romero is tailor-made for Diego Simeone’s hard-hitting approach.
According to a recent report from TEAMtalk, Atletico have recently become the leaders in the race to acquire his signature. Romero looked previously set to join Inter Milan in Serie A, but the La Liga outfit have now seemingly ‘hijacked’ the deal.
Inter had negotiated a transfer deal of £38 million to snap Romero up. As such, it can be assumed that Atletico will either match or exceed this amount in their efforts to bring him on board.
Plenty of top clubs have been in pursuit of Romero’s signature in the last few weeks. Among them are bitter rivals Arsenal, who, according to Corriere dello Sport, had made ‘advances’ to sign the player.
Back in July, Tottenham transfer insider John Wenham backed Romero to join Manchester United, stating the possibility of him linking up with international compatriot Lisandro Martinez [via Tottenham News]. Indeed, the pair formed a formidable partnership at the 2026 World Cup, where they reached the final before being dumped out by Spain.
As well as this, TransferFeed has linked Romero with a number of other Premier League clubs in recent times, including Chelsea, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
Cristian Romero 2025/26 Premier League stats
Cristian Romero 2026 World Cup stats
How will the loss of Cristian Romero affect Tottenham?
On paper, Romero is a brilliant defender and player in general. His strong tackling ability, combined with his natural desire to succeed and knack for scoring goals from set-pieces made him a fantastic asset to the Lilywhites.
In practice, however, it didn’t always quite work out like that. Last season, Romero made plenty of defensive errors, drawing the ire of fans and pundits alike.
His generally-unwavering desire to succeed was often nowhere to be seen. As club captain, made so after the departure of Heung-min Son, such an attitude was unacceptable.
As such, for all his talents, certain sections of the Tottenham fanbase might be glad to see the back of the 28-year-old. For all his talents, it seemed that he didn’t want to remain at the club.
Given Spurs’ dismal underperformance last season, during which they flirted with relegation and ultimately finished 17th, major changes were necessary.
Roberto De Zerbi made it clear in a recent interview [via BBC Sport] that anyone who did not want to stay at the club would not be forced to do so. Due to this, it appears as though a clean break would be the best result for all parties involved.