The Tottenham Hotspur captain has been in the headlines again this week after a match-deciding performance at the World Cup
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni once admitted what Tottenham managers have always known - there's no point trying to control Cristian Romero.
The Spurs captain is a force of nature on a football pitch, whether that's when he's crunching into tackles or when the centre-back wanders up the pitch and decides to become a striker for a spell. The 28-year-old has done the latter to major effect over the years for the north London club and last season recorded 10 goal involvements from 32 matches despite being a central defender.
Romero crucially did it for his country with the headed goal that kickstarted Argentina's dramatic late comeback against Egypt at the World Cup on Tuesday night in Atlanta. After Enzo Fernandez then scored the winner in stoppage time, rather than rushing over to the Chelsea man, the Spurs defender instead celebrated wildly by punching the air repeatedly in the path of Mohamed Salah, who had to step around him, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez grabbing Romero to ensure he did not spark a reaction from the Egyptian players.
Romero had done similar in the face of Kylian Mbappe after Lionel Messi's extra-time goal in the World Cup final in Qatar, with the Frenchman not flinching. It's a reaction Spurs fans have also seen over the years in club matches, including celebrating in Harry Maguire's face after the Manchester United defender scored an own goal against the north London outfit.
The Tottenham skipper, who arrived at this World Cup after suffering a knee injury which ended his Premier League season prematurely, had also forced the Diney Borges own goal with his extra-time header to break Cape Verde hearts in the last 32.
Romero drew plenty of praise back home for his performance against Egypt with Argentine newspaper La Nacion, translated by Sport Witness, saying that the Spurs man "defends as a marshal and finishes as a number nine".
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The media outlet, when speaking about Romero's goal against Egypt, referenced some previous quotes from his international boss Scaloni about the defender's forays forward and those words confirmed a truth that many Spurs head coaches have felt the same way about.
"Sometimes we tell Cuti not to go up, but he goes anyway, it’s in his genes. He made a run like when he was at Atalanta. He has that raw talent that you can't control, and sometimes it pays off for us," said Scaloni.
Messi, who scored Argentina's second goal against Egypt, once called Romero "the best defender in the world" and said that "it puts my mind at ease knowing Cuti's back there, I don't have to turn around to look".
Romero's future at Spurs remains unclear this summer. With Roberto De Zerbi pushing for the arrivals of Romero's Argentina team-mate Marcos Senesi and his former Brighton centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke, Romero could depart as Radu Dragusin has done to Fiorentina this week.
Romero has had long-time interest from Atletico Madrid and Messi's old side Barcelona are also reportedly considering a move. The problem could be Tottenham's price tag for a player starring at the World Cup, with three years left on his contract.
Spurs have just signed Van Hecke for £52million despite only having 12 months left on his deal at Brighton, before selling 19-year-old Luka Vuskovic for £50million despite the teenager having never played a competitive game for the club.
Romero's price tag should logically be higher and will only increase with each passing game-changing performance at the World Cup.