Cristian Romero and Thomas Frank
Tottenham Hotspurs Football Newsletter
Thomas Frank has said that Cristian Romero latest social media outburst has been ‘dealt with’ behind closed doors.
Romero took to Instagram shortly after the close of the January transfer window to take aim at Spurs’ board in yet another explosive social media post on Monday evening.
The Spurs captain, who came off as he felt unwell during last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City, praised his teammates for salvaging a point from two goals down, but said it was “disgraceful” that Spurs “only had 11 players available” as they contend with a mounting injury list.
'Great effort from all my teammates yesterday, they were incredible,’ Romero’s Instagram statement read.
'I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn't feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available – unbelievable but true, and disgraceful.
'We'll keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around, working hard and staying together. All that's left is to thank all of you for being there and for always supporting us, the fans.'
Romero, who avoided punishment for criticising the club’s board after Spurs’ defeat to Bournemouth at the start of January, has not been shy in coming forward with criticism of the club this season.
Following the defeat to Bournemouth, Romero said of senior figures at the club, 'They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies’ before later removing the part about ‘lies’.
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The post was liked by several first-team players, including Richarlison, Pedro Porro and Xavi Simons, and Frank admitted that he and sporting director Johan Lange had spoken to Romero about his conduct.
On Romero’s latest outburst, Frank said: "I think if you want to know what he meant, you of course need to ask him. I think that's the right way to take that question.
“Cuti is a very passionate character and player that wants to leave everything on the pitch. He's very ambitious and wants to win every single time. Sometimes when you are like that, sometimes there can come an outburst, which happened this time. It's something we of course dealt with internally.
“I think I said to you again that there's a lot of ways of doing things. Cuti has been very good for us this season and in the past seasons, and I think that's very important to be aware of. I wouldn't have done it."
With Kevin Danso, Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven all late omissions from the squad against City through injury, Spurs have been left short of options across the pitch, and the timing of Romero’s post - shortly after the January transfer deadline had passed - felt pointed and deliberate.
Spurs failed to make a single first-team signing on Deadline Day, with 18-year-old striker James Wilson joining up with the club’s Under-21s team on loan with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.
Conor Gallagher and Brazilian left-back Souza arrived earlier in the window, but with a spree of injuries and the departure of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace, it was ultimately a frustrating month in the transfer market for Spurs.
Frank, though, maintained throughout January that the club would not be forced into snap decisions or short-term fixes, and on the club’s transfer business, he added: "I think we signed Conor Gallagher, who is a quality player for the starting eleven. Of course he needs to perform and no one is promised any position.
“We signed a quality player and a young player for the future. I think if you compare to a lot of the other Premier League clubs, I think that's very good and where we are is okay. We tried to do more, but it was not possible for whatever reason.
“I've said it the whole time that it's very, very important that we take good decisions. It needs to be for the short term and the long term."