Cristian Romero leaves Tottenham for Atletico Madrid in £34.2m transfer
Cristian Romero has completed his £34.2m move from Tottenham Hotspur to Atletico Madrid after five seasons in North London.
The Argentina international has signed a five-year contract with Diego Simeone's side, while Tottenham have retained a 15 per cent sell-on clause.
Romero made 124 appearances for Spurs and helped the club win the Europa League.
The 28-year-old leaves after a turbulent final period at Tottenham, with his relationship with the club and supporters becoming increasingly complicated.
Romero says farewell to Tottenham
Romero reflected on his five years at Spurs after confirming his departure, describing the club as his home and expressing pride at helping Tottenham end their long wait for a major trophy.
"Today, I say goodbye to a place that, for five seasons, was much more than a club," Romero said on Instagram.
"It was my home, my challenge and the place where my family and I built such an important part of our lives."
Romero also highlighted the importance of the Europa League triumph, which ended Tottenham's wait for silverware.
"I knew the only way was through hard work, sacrifice and achieving something that had seemed so difficult for so long: lifting a trophy again. And we did it."
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Atletico get experienced defender
Romero now moves to Atletico Madrid, where he will work under Simeone and provide another experienced option at the heart of the defence.
The Argentine's aggressive style, defensive quality and experience at international level made him an attractive target for Atletico, who have been pursuing the centre-back throughout the summer.
His arrival also gives Simeone a defender capable of operating within different defensive structures as Atletico continue to reshape their squad.
'The time was right' for Romero
Despite Romero's achievements at Tottenham, Sky Sports News' Michael Bridge believes the transfer represents the right outcome for all parties.
"On his day he was one of the best centre-backs in the world," Bridge said.
However, he believes Romero's performances were not consistently at that level for Spurs and pointed to several controversies surrounding the defender's time at the club.
"He posted a few public comments about the board, which you can't do," Bridge added.
"He was a key part of winning the Europa League but there was that final day saga about whether will he or won't he watch his team try to avoid relegation.
"The time was right for him to move."
Tottenham have therefore lost their captain and an experienced defender, but Romero's departure also marks another significant step in Roberto De Zerbi's reshaping of the squad ahead of the new Premier League season.
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