Tottenham Hotspur’s move to sign Cristian Romero from Atalanta actually left Barcelona feeling relieved – because it stopped Lionel Messi telling them to land him.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that Messi was pestering Barcelona to sign Romero last summer.
Messi had won Copa America alongside Romero last summer as the duo brought glory to Argentina, and the superstar was seemingly in love with the defender.
Barcelona didn’t quite think Romero was worth the hype coming from Messi though and were always hoping Tottenham would pay up.
When Tottenham teed up their deal in early August, Barcelona were allegedly ‘relieved’ because it would stop Messi from asking for a transfer.
In the end, Barcelona couldn’t even keep Messi never mind sign Romero as Messi headed for Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona may not have really wanted Romero but Tottenham certainly did, and that decision currently looks like paying dividends.
Romero has largely impressed this season, even if he missed a chunk of the campaign through injury.
There are still aspects of Romero’s game that need to be improved; he’s still a little rash at times and picks up too many yellow cards, for instance.
Yet it looks like Tottenham have a defensive star to build around for years to come – one with the kind of intensity Antonio Conte will love.
Barcelona were allegedly stunned when Tottenham coughed up almost £26million for Emerson Royal this past summer and Romero’s deal left them feeling like a weight had been lifted.
In the case of Romero though, there seems to be a real chance for him to go on and become one of the top centre backs in Europe.
Along the way, Romero would no doubt love to make Barcelona feel foolish for ignoring the greatest player of a generation, allowing him to join Tottenham instead.
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