Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Cristian Romero from Tottenham for a reported €40m (£34m), ending the defender’s uncertain future in north London.
The Argentina international has agreed a five-year contract with the LaLiga club, who begin their campaign against Malaga next Wednesday.
Romero’s position at Tottenham had come under scrutiny throughout the summer after the club added Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi to their defensive options before Roberto De Zerbi’s first full season in charge.
The 27-year-old was also criticised last season after returning to Argentina while injured instead of joining Tottenham for their decisive final-day match against Everton. He later changed his decision, but the episode added to the uncertainty surrounding his future.
Several clubs had shown interest in Romero since the transfer window opened, including Premier League champions Arsenal. Atletico Madrid ultimately secured the deal for the centre-back.
Romero joined Tottenham in 2021, initially on loan from Atalanta, before making the move permanent. During his time with the club he made 156 appearances and helped Spurs win the Europa League in 2024-25, their first trophy for 17 years.
His performances also placed him among Tottenham’s leading defenders across a number of key defensive statistics. Since making his debut for the club, Romero has won 873 duels, the highest figure among Spurs defenders. He also made 223 interceptions and 524 clearances, both club-leading totals, while his 208 successful tackles ranked second.
Romero’s threat has not been limited to his defensive work. Since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, only Gabriel Magalhaes, with 18 goals, and Virgil van Dijk, with 17, have scored more Premier League goals as defenders than Romero, who has found the net 11 times.
His departure follows a difficult period for Tottenham, who were involved in a relegation battle last season. Romero missed part of that run because of injury and was absent for the meeting with Everton before eventually reversing his decision to return home.
At international level, Romero started seven of Argentina’s eight matches at this summer’s World Cup, where they finished runners-up to Spain.
He helped the Albiceleste keep two clean sheets during the tournament and won 33 of his 50 duels. Romero also recorded 10 tackles, the joint-second-highest total in the competition alongside Lionel Messi and behind Alexis Mac Allister, who made 12.
Atletico Madrid will now look to integrate Romero into their defence ahead of their opening LaLiga fixture against Malaga next Wednesday.
