Cristian Romero hits out at Tottenham Hotspur's 'disgraceful' and 'unbelievable' lack of squad depth after Manchester City draw

Cristian Romero has hit out at Tottenham Hotspur's "unbelievable" and "disgraceful" lack of squad depth, following Sunday's 2-2 draw with Manchester City. Romero played the first half of the match despite struggling with illness and has criticised the lack of options available to his side, claiming "we only had 11 players available". Spurs had just four senior outfield substitutions for the match.

Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero said his side's lack of squad options for Sunday's 2-2 draw against Manchester City was "disgraceful".

Spurs were missing 11 first-team players for the match, with just four senior outfield options on the bench, while Romero was taken off at half-time due to illness.

In a post on Instagram, Romero praised his "incredible" team-mates after coming from two goals behind to secure a point - but criticised the lack of available squad depth.

"Great effort from all my team-mates yesterday, they were incredible," he said.

"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."

It is not the first time the Spurs captain has been outspoken about issues at the club.

In January, Romero appeared to accuse some people at Spurs of telling "a few lies" in a cryptic social media post, which was later edited, following their 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth.

He questioned why "other people" were not speaking about the club's position, and said it had been happening for "several years".

Spurs boss Thomas Frank said a day later he and co-sporting director Johan Lange had a "good conversation" with Romero about his comments.

"When you're a young leader, sometimes you make a mistake," Frank said. "It's, of course, good to keep it internally. Johan and I had a good conversation with him this morning about everything, and we keep it internally."

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In December 2024, Romero criticised Spurs' lack of spending compared to their Premier League rivals, which he said was seeing them fall behind. "You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it," he said.

Spurs signed Conor Gallagher and Brazilian left-back Souza in the January transfer window, before also bringing in 18-year-old striker James Wilson from Scottish Premiership side Hearts on deadline day.

But head coach Frank - who has come under heavy scrutiny this season with Spurs 14th in the Premier League table - remains with limited options in his squad, albeit aided by the respite in their UEFA Champions League schedule due to their fourth-placed league phase finish.

On Romero's illness, Frank said after the draw with City: "He struggled through the Frankfurt game as well but he pushed through that with a fantastic captain's performance. He struggled a little bit [today] but we hope it's nothing."

Spurs striker Dominic Solanke, meanwhile, told Sky Sports "I'll be good", allaying concerns after he limped off, having netted both his side's goals in the second-half comeback.

Frank's side are without a win in the Premier League since December 28, a run of six matches. They have, however, enjoyed success in the Champions League, winning five of their eight matches in the league phase - only losing to European champions Paris Saint-Germain in that time.

They return to action against Michael Carrick's in-form Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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