Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has been criticized after opting to fly back to Argentina rather than support his teammates in their final-day Premier League relegation decider against Everton.Â
The injured defender is traveling home to watch his boyhood club, Belgrano, in a historic championship decider against River Plate on Sunday instead of sitting in the stands at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The center back has been out of action since suffering a knee injury during a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland last month, a match that marked Roberto De Zerbi’s debut in the Spurs dugout.Â
While the defender cannot physically take to the pitch, his role as a leader has been called into question due to his impending absence from north London during a relegation decider.
Despite his injury, Romero had previously been a visible presence on the touchline, even joining in the celebrations when Mathys Tel scored a vital goal against Leeds United earlier this month.Â
However, the 28-year-old has now chosen to return to his homeland to witness Belgrano take on River Plate in a historic Argentine league championship final.Â
The timing is particularly sensitive as Tottenham face the very real threat of being relegated to English football’s second tier on the same afternoon.
The defenders choice was confirmed by South American football expert Tim Vickery during an appearance on talkSPORT, leading to an immediate and fierce reaction from host and Spurs fan Paul Hawksbee.
The broadcaster was clinical in his assessment of the Tottenham captain, suggesting that the players priorities lay far away from the Premier League survival scrap.
Explaining his stance, Hawksbee said: “Good club captain, then. Not at Tottenham’s biggest game since 1976 â fantastic. True to the end, good old Cristian. I’ll be wearing my River Plate shirt at the weekend. I think that’s terrible.Â
“He goes and watches the club he supports as opposed to the club captain of a team that’s threatened with relegation, where he’s not there with the lads and all the other injured players. But you know, I mean, as I said, it’s true at the end; I always thought that Cristian Romero was just passing through and that Tottenham were a distraction from Argentina. But I am quite bitter.”
Vickery attempted to provide context regarding why the fixture in Argentina holds such personal weight for Romero.Â
The World Cup winner began his career at Belgrano, joining the youth ranks in 2014 before making his senior debut two years later.Â
For Romero, this is not just a secondary interest but a connection to his roots at a moment that could define the history of his former club.
Vickery noted the gravity of the match in South America, stating: “I knew this would wind you up. Belgrano are Romero’s club. It’s the club where he started, and he’s a fan. Belgrano have never won the Argentine Championship, and they are going to River Plate, who have won more than anyone else, so this is historic.Â
“15 years ago, these two met in the playoff that relegated River Plate, and if Tottenham going down is off the scale, River Plate going down is even more of
