Lionel Messi wanted Barcelona to sign current Tottenham superstar Cristian Romero in 2021
According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Lionel Messi was desperate for Barcelona to sign Cristian Romero a year before his move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Atalanta eventually bought him for €16million before they sold him to Spurs for €50million. But things could have been a lot different had Barcelona paid heed to Messi’s advice.
That summer, Romero and Messi won the 2021 Copa America with Argentina, which was La Pulga‘s first major trophy on the international stage. Romero played a big role in that.
Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates after scoring with teammate Rodrigo De Paul. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)
The hype continued to build from there on. He has been a regular for La Albiceleste under Lionel Scaloni and was a star for his team as they won the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Romero is Tottenham’s gem
It really was superb work from Tottenham to sign him at a time when he was perhaps not the most common name in world football. His stocks would have only risen after the World Cup win.
He still has four years left on his contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Transfermarkt) and we can rest assured that the 25-year-old is here to stay. That only makes sense, because we would have to be crazy to consider selling him no matter what offer comes on the table.
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Messi eventually left Barcelona himself in 2021, so perhaps Romero also may not hold a lot of regret that the Catalan giants did not come for him. The two are great friends off the field.
But that wouldn’t have assured a starting spot in a team that, right now, has Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Inigo Martinez and Ronald Araujo as their centre-back options.
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Of course, things may have been different had they signed Romero for a big fee two years ago considering they signed three of the four aforementioned players after 2021.
