Tottenham Hotspur star center back Cristian Romero's 2026 World Cup was a memorable one and one in which he played at a very high level individually, but it was one that ended in tears as Romero left the pitch early and watched as Argentina did absolutely nothing to threaten Spain, losing 1-0 to a superior side that was in control of the match while his Argentian exited as the clear villains of the tournament.
Argentina went out scratching, biting, and flopping their way to a loss with zero shots on target, and Tottenham fans were almost unanimously rooting for Pedro Porro with no real regard for Romero, whose future has seemingly pointed out of Tottenham 100 percent ever since he tried to abandon supporting the team during their Premier League relegation battle despite being literal captain.
Transfer rumors are continuing to swirl around Romero, and while there are some figures of the past who want Spurs and De Zerbi to consider changing their minds and keep Romero around, that ship has clearly sailed for the Lilywhites.
Cristian Romero is as good as gone
According to the latest information from Fabrizio Romano, Cristian Romero will be leaving now that the World Cup is over, and he is fully expected to go. There is no ambiguity from Romano on the Romero case. The Italian transfer insider says that so far, there are two big clubs interested, Inter Milan and, of course, Barcelona.
Fab said, via Chris Cowlin, "He will leave Tottenham after the World Cup. The plan is for the exit - Inter Milan are interested and so are Barcelona, let's see if others join the race. He is fully expected to leave Tottenham in the summer transfer window."
Atletico Madrid have also been linked to Romero by Romano and other transfer insiders this summer, and they werey very keen on the Argentinian international for manager Diego Simeone, too. Romero was pretty openly pining for La Liga last summer, and he has already been a star in Serie A so those are the two destinations that make the most sense for him. Nobody, not even Manchester United, has been credibly linked to the experienced center back in the English Premier League this summer.
While Romero is an excellent player and had a strong World Cup, he is not consistent enough to be world class and lacks leadership. Spurs signed Jan Paul van Hecke and compatriot Marcos Senesi and are committed to Micky van de Ven 100 percent. Romano is going, and fans have been prepared for this for months.
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