Cristian Romero (Argentine footballer)

Cristian Gabriel Romero (born 27 April 1998), also known as Cuti Romero,[5] is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Argentina national team. Romero is known for his aggressive play style, ability on the ball, and dominance in aerial duels.[6][7]

Cristian Romero
Romero with Argentina U20 in 2017
Personal information
Full name Cristian Gabriel Romero[1]
Date of birth (1998-04-27) 27 April 1998[2]
Place of birth Córdoba, Argentina
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back[4]
Team information
Current team
 Tottenham Hotspur
Number 17
Youth career
2014–2016 Belgrano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Belgrano 16 (0)
2018–2019 Genoa 27 (2)
2019–2021 Juventus 0 (0)
2019–2020 → Genoa (loan) 30 (1)
2020–2021 → Atalanta (loan) 31 (2)
2021–2022 Atalanta 0 (0)
2021–2022 → Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 22 (1)
2022– Tottenham Hotspur 32 (2)
International career‡
2017 Argentina U20 7 (0)
2021– Argentina 26 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Argentina
FIFA World Cup
Winner2022 Qatar
Copa América
Winner2021 Brazil
CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
Winner2022 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 September 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023

Coming through the youth system, Romero began his senior career in 2016 at Belgrano. He moved to Italy in 2018, playing for Genoa. Romero was purchased by Juventus the following season; he was sent back on loan to Genoa, before being sent on loan to Atalanta in 2020. After being nominated Serie A Best Defender in 2020–21 with Atalanta, the club exercised the option of purchase before promptly loaning Romero to Tottenham with an obligation to buy. After a successful loan spell, Romero was signed by Tottenham in 2022.

Romero represented Argentina at youth level at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship. He made his senior debut in 2021, and was a key member of the squad that won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Belgrano

Having joined the youth team in 2014,[8] Romero was promoted to Argentine Primera División side Belgrano's first team in 2016;[9] his debut came on 28 August, in a league match with Independiente.[2] A month later, Romero played in both of Belgrano's 2016 Copa Sudamericana round of sixteen ties against Coritiba.[2] In two seasons with Belgrano's first-team, he made nineteen appearances in all competitions.[2]

Genoa, Juventus and Atalanta

In July 2018, Romero joined Genoa of Serie A.[2] Romero scored his first senior goal in his second Genoa match, netting in a 2–2 draw with Udinese on 28 October, a match in which he was later sent off.[2] On 9 July 2019 Juventus announced Romero was having a medical ahead of a proposed transfer.[10]

On 12 July 2019, Juventus announced the permanent acquisition of Romero from Genoa for €26 million, with the player remaining at his former club on loan for the rest of the season.[11]

On 5 September 2020, Romero joined Atalanta on loan until 30 June 2022 with an option to buy.[12] He was elected the best defender of the 2020–21 Serie A season.[13]

Tottenham Hotspur

On 6 August 2021, Juventus announced that Atalanta had activated the option to sign Romero for €16 million.[14] Later that day, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur announced his signing from Atalanta on an initial season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent.[13][15]

Romero made his debut for the club on 15 August, coming on as a late substitute for Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in a match against Manchester City that Tottenham won 1–0.[16] On 19 August 2021, he made his first start in the UEFA Europa Conference League first leg tie against Paços de Ferreira, which ended in a 1–0 defeat.[17] Romero scored his first goal for Tottenham Hotspur in a 2–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

On 30 August 2022, he joined Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent deal with a contract lasting until 2027.[18]

International career

Youth

Romero has represented Argentina at U20 level, winning seven caps at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship in Ecuador.[2] In April 2017, he was called up for Argentina's training camp ahead of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea but was not selected on the tournament squad list.[19] Romero was called up for the U23s in September 2019.[20]

Senior

Romero made his debut for the senior national team on 3 June 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Chile, playing the full match.[21] In his following game for Argentina on 8 June, he scored his first international goal, coming from a thumping header against Colombia after only 130 seconds. This goal also broke the record for the fastest ever scored for Argentina in a professional match, surpassing Diego Maradona's goal after 168 seconds against Venezuela in 1985.[22]

In June 2021, he was included in Lionel Scaloni's final Argentina 28-man squad for the 2021 Copa América.[23] Romero was included in the Team of the Tournament at the conclusion, as Argentina won the competition.[24] Romero was also an integral part of the Argentinian team which won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, in which he started in six out of seven matches including the final.[25]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 25 September 2023[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Belgrano 2016–17 APD 13000—2[lower-alpha 3]0150
2017–18 3010—0040
Total 16010—20190
Genoa 2018–19 Serie A 27200——272
Genoa (loan) 2019–20 30130——331
Atalanta (loan) 2020–21 31240—7[lower-alpha 4]1423
Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 2021–22 Premier League 22120204[lower-alpha 5]0301
Tottenham Hotspur 2022–23 27000007[lower-alpha 4]0340
2023–24 620000—62
Total 5532020110703
Career total 1598100202011919
  1. Includes Copa Argentina, Coppa Italia, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International
As of match played 17 October 2023[26]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Argentina 2021101
202290
202371
Total262
Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Romero goal.[26]
List of international goals scored by Cristian Romero
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
18 June 2021Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia Colombia1–02–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification
219 June 2023Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia Indonesia2–02–0Friendly

Honours

Argentina

Individual

References
  1. "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  2. Cristian Romero at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  3. "Cristian Romero". Atalanta B.C. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021.
  4. "Cristian Romero". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  5. Dawes, Olly (17 December 2022). "Why is Cristian Romero called Cuti? Tottenham star's nickname explained". HITC. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  6. McCambridge, Mark WhiteContributions from Ed; published, Ryan Dabbs (15 September 2023). "Ranked! The 10 best centre-backs in the world". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  7. Sage, Caleb (18 April 2023). "Tottenham star 'deserves a bit more respect'". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  8. "Cristian Romero: la scheda tecnica". Jmania.it (in Italian). 6 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  9. "Cristian Romero firmó su primer contrato". Club Atlético Belgrano. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  10. "Cristian Romero begins Juventus medical". Juventus. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  11. "Romero, gli accordi con il Genoa". Juventus.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  12. "UFFICIALE: Juve, ceduto Romero in prestito biennale con diritto di riscatto all'Atalanta". tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). 5 September 2020.
  13. "Romero signs from Atalanta". tottenhamhotspur.com. 6 August 2021.
  14. Juventus.com. "ESERCIZIO DEL DIRITTO DI OPZIONE PER IL CALCIATORE CRISTIAN ROMERO - Juventus". Juventus.com (in Italian). Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  15. "Cristian Romero joins Tottenham Hotspur". atalanta.it. 6 August 2021.
  16. Burnton, Simon (15 August 2021). "Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City: Premier League - as it happened". The Guardian.
  17. Morgan, Richard (20 August 2021). "Pacos de Ferreira 1-0 Tottenham: Much-changed Spurs lose Europa Conference League play-off first-leg tie". Sky Sports.
  18. "Romero completes permanent move". tottenhamhotspur.com. 30 August 2022.
  19. "Lista para la semana que viene". Argentine Football Association. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  20. "La Selección Sub 23 jugará ante Bolivia desde las 19, en el estadio de Banfield". AFA. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  21. "Argentina v Chile game report". ESPN. 3 June 2021.
  22. "Πέρασε τον Μαραντόνα και… έγραψε ιστορία ο Ρομέρο!" [Romero surpassed Maradona... and made history!]. www.sport-fm.gr (in Greek). 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  23. "Argentina National Team Squad 2021". Diario AS. 15 June 2021.
  24. "Uno por uno, el equipo ideal de la CONMEBOL Copa América 2021 elegido por el GET". Copa América (in Spanish). 13 July 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  25. "'I watch it every day!' - Tottenham defender Romero admits he's still not over Argentina's World Cup final win over France". Goal.com. 5 February 2023.
  26. "Cristian Romero". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  27. Murray, Scott (18 December 2022). "Argentina beat France on penalties after thrilling World Cup final – live reaction". the Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  28. Graham, Bryan Armen (11 July 2021). "Argentina 1-0 Brazil: Copa América final – live!". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  29. "Italy 0–3 Argentina: Messi and Di Maria shine in impressive Finalissima win". BBC Sport. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  30. "The MVPs of the 2020/2021 Season: Cristian Romero Best Defender". Serie A. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  31. "Uno por uno, el equipo ideal de la CONMEBOL Copa América 2021 elegido por el GET". Copa América (in Spanish). 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
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