Cristian Romero (footballer, born 1998)
![]() Romero with Argentina U20 in 2017 | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Cristian Gabriel Romero[1] | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 27 April 1998 | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Córdoba, Argentina | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Centre-back[3] | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | Tottenham Hotspur (on loan from Atalanta) | |||||||||||||||
Number | 4 | |||||||||||||||
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– | Atalanta | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2021– | → Tottenham Hotspur (loan) | 15 | (1) | |||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
2017 | Argentina U20 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2021– | Argentina | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||||
Honours
| ||||||||||||||||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 March 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 November 2021 |
Cristian Gabriel Romero (born 27 April 1998) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, on loan from Atalanta, and the Argentina national team.
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 obligation to buy.
Romero represented Argentina at youth level at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship. He made his senior debut in 2021, and was part of the squad that won the 2021 Copa América.
Club career[]
Belgrano[]
Having joined the youth team in 2014,[4] Romero was promoted to Argentine Primera División side Belgrano's first team in 2016;[5] 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[]
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] Juventus, on 9 July, announced Romero was having a medical ahead of a proposed transfer.[6]
Juventus[]
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.[7]
On 5 September 2020, Romero joined Atalanta on loan until 30 June 2022 with an option to buy.[8] He was elected the best defender of the 2020–21 Serie A season.[9]
Tottenham Hotspur[]
On 6 August 2021, Juventus announced that Atalanta had activated the option to sign Romero for €16 million.[10] Later that day, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur announced his signing for €55m,[9] also confirmed by Atalanta.[11]
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.[12] 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.[13]
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.[14] Romero was called up for the U23s in September 2019.[15]
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.[16] 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.[17]
In June 2021, he was included in Lionel Scaloni's final Argentina 28-man squad for the 2021 Copa América.[18]
Career statistics[]
Club[]
- As of match played 16 March 2022[2]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Belgrano | 2016–17 | Argentine Primera División | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | ||
2017–18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
Total | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
Genoa | 2018–19 | Serie A | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 2 | |||
Genoa (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie A | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
Atalanta (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 7[b] | 1 | — | 42 | 3 | ||
Tottenham Hotspur (loan) | 2021–22 | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | |
Career total | 119 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 144 | 7 |
- ^ Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International[]
- As of match played 16 November 2021[19]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Argentina | 2021 | 10 | 1 |
Total | 10 | 1 |
- Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Romero goal.[19]
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 June 2021 | Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia | ![]() |
1–0 | 2–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours[]
Argentina
Individual
- Serie A Best Defender: 2020–21[21]
- Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2021[22]
References[]
- ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cristian Romero at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ "Cristian Romero". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "Cristian Romero: la scheda tecnica". Jmania.it (in Italian). 6 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Cristian Romero firmó su primer contrato". Club Atlético Belgrano. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ "Cristian Romero begins Juventus medical". Juventus. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "Romero, gli accordi con il Genoa". Juventus.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "UFFICIALE: Juve, ceduto Romero in prestito biennale con diritto di riscatto all'Atalanta". tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). 5 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Romero signs from Atalanta". tottenhamhotspur.com. 6 August 2021.
- ^ Juventus.com. "ESERCIZIO DEL DIRITTO DI OPZIONE PER IL CALCIATORE CRISTIAN ROMERO - Juventus". Juventus.com (in Italian). Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "Cristian Romero joins Tottenham Hotspur". atalanta.it. 6 August 2021.
- ^ Burnton, Simon (15 August 2021). "Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City: Premier League - as it happened". The Guardian.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Lista para la semana que viene". Argentine Football Association. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ "La Selección Sub 23 jugará ante Bolivia desde las 19, en el estadio de Banfield". AFA. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ "Argentina v Chile game report". ESPN. 3 June 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Argentina National Team Squad 2021". Diario AS. 15 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Cristian Romero". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ Graham, Bryan Armen (11 July 2021). "Argentina 1-0 Brazil: Copa América final – live!". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ "The MVPs of the 2020/2021 Season: Cristian Romero Best Defender". Serie A. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ "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.
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Córdoba, Argentina
- Argentine footballers
- Association football defenders
- Club Atlético Belgrano footballers
- Genoa C.F.C. players
- Juventus F.C. players
- Atalanta B.C. players
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
- Argentine Primera División players
- Serie A players
- Premier League players
- Argentina youth international footballers
- Argentina under-20 international footballers
- Argentina international footballers
- 2021 Copa América players
- Copa América-winning players
- Argentine people of indigenous peoples descent
- Argentine expatriate footballers
- Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy
- Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate footballers in Italy
- Expatriate footballers in England