Immediately after the mid-season transfer window closed yesterday, 2/2, Romero took to social media to air his grievances. He referenced the recent Premier League draw against Man City, a match where the Argentine center-back had to leave the field after halftime due to feeling unwell, revealing a stark reality.
"Great effort from my teammates against Man City, they played bravely", Romero wrote. "I really wanted to be on the field to help, even though I wasn't feeling well, especially when we only had 11 first-team players available – an unbelievable and shameful truth. We will continue to fight and take responsibility to turn things around, working hard and staying united. The last thing I want to do is thank the fans for always being there and supporting us."
Romero's post garnered support through likes from numerous teammates, including Pedro Porro, Dominic Solanke, Djed Spence, Conor Gallagher, Pape Matar Sarr, and Kevin Danso.
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Tottenham captain Cristian Romero waves to fans as he leaves the field after a match against Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League on 24/1. Photo: AFP |
According to Sport Mail, the 27-year-old player's message was aimed directly at Tottenham's transfer strategy. After the transfer market closed late yesterday, 2/2, the North London club failed to secure the quality signings the 2022 World Cup winner had hoped for.
Although Tottenham outmaneuvered Arsenal to sign 18-year-old forward James Wilson from Heart of Midlothian on the final day of the transfer window, the young talent joined on a six-month loan with a buy option and will spend the remainder of the season developing with the U21 team.
This month, Tottenham acquired English midfielder Conor Gallagher for 48 million USD from Atletico Madrid and young Brazilian left-back Souza from Santos for 18 million USD. However, they sold Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace for 48 million USD and lost numerous key players due to injuries, particularly in defense.
When Romero left the field during the Man City match, coach Thomas Frank found himself missing as many as 12 first-team players. He was forced to deploy a makeshift defense with midfielders Archie Gray and Joao Palhinha playing out of position, while center-back Radu Dragusin had just made his first start after over one year of recovering from a serious knee injury.
While Romero and Micky van de Ven may return for the match against Man Utd this weekend, Tottenham's injury list still includes eight players, all of whom need several more weeks to recover.
Coach Frank explained that Tottenham's strategy is to "keep a cool head" and not splurge on short-term fixes that could jeopardize long-term plans. In fact, Spurs had pursued Antoine Semenyo – who moved to Man City for 89 million USD – and nearly reached an agreement with Andy Robertson, but Liverpool refused to release him due to their own personnel crisis.
However, Romero did not accept that explanation. This marks his second public outburst this year. Previously, after the 3-2 loss to Bournemouth on 8/1, the key player, who recently extended his contract until 2029, wrote on social media: "At times like this, others should have spoken up, but they didn't, and this has been going on for years. They only appear when things are good to spin some lies."
Although he later deleted the phrase "lies", his post still received agreement from Richarlison, Porro, and Xavi Simons. This was seen as a direct attack on the leadership and the lack of ambition of the reigning Europa League champions.
Compiled by Ha Phuong
