Tottenham captain Cristian Romero 'in London' for relegation decider after fan backlash | OneFootball

The Spurs skipper had previously decided to miss one of the biggest games in the club’s history

Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has returned to London ahead of today’s relegation decider against Everton.

The defender is currently sidelined with a knee injury, and recently travelled to Argentina to continue his rehabilitation ahead of the World Cup, where he is set to play a key part for the defending champions.

Word emerged this week that Romero was set to remain in his homeland this weekend as his club faces a do-or-die game, arguably the biggest in their history, with their Premier League survival at stake.

“Will he have tickets? Of course, he'll watch [the final] next to me.

Belgrano president Luis Artime

Belgrano is Romero’s boyhood club, where he rose through the youth ranks before making his first professional appearances as a player. As speculation mounted over Vickery’s claims, the Argentine club posted a video of Romero at their training ground.

Spurs fans were quick to vent their anger on line, labelling their skipper as, among other things, an “embarrassment”.

The Spurs Express, a Tottenham news and updates account with over 239,000 followers, described the situation as “inexplicable and frankly extraordinary” in a post on the social media platform X, adding: “Dereliction of duty is an understatement.”

Belgrano president Luis Artime then confirmed to Argentine publication Deportes 24 that Romero would attend their game. “Of course, he'll watch it next to me,” he said.

100 per cent I understand [the fan anger] ... I have not time to lose energy, we have to be focused just on the game

Roberto De Zerbi

Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi attempted to quell the growing fan unrest, insisting the decision to fly to Argentina was approved by the club’s medical staff and defended the player’s leadership qualities.

Though he did point out that Ben Davies, the longest-standing member of the squad, also injured and also part of the leadership group, had been staying at Spurs Lodge, the club’s training base, to help with preparations for Sunday’s game.

The tale took another twist later on Friday as Romero’s agent hit out at the “entirely inaccurate” reports that Romero had travelled to Argentina to watch his boyhood club.

Ciro Palermo told Football London: “It is a completely fabricated narrative being circulated by people who are unaware of the facts and have no knowledge of the rehabilitation plan that has been in place for weeks.

“Cristian’s focus is, and has always been, on recovering as strongly as possible, preparing for the World Cup, and supporting Tottenham Hotspur in every way he can. His commitment to the club, his teammates and the supporters has been evident throughout his time at Tottenham and remains unchanged.”

Things took a strange turn on Saturday when Romero posted an image on his Instagram story of him getting his haircut at a London barbers. Fan joy was quickly drowned out with speculation that the photo was old, as Spurs internet sleuths claimed the photo was from May 6 due to the player’s other social media activity at the same hairdressers.

But Romero’s post appears to have been laying the groundwork for a return to London.

Argentine journalist Gaston Edul, who is said to have close ties with the Spurs captain, reported in the early hours on Sunday morning that Romero was “already in London”.

He added: “He will continue his recovery in England until June 1, when he will join the Argentina national team in Kansas City.”

Romero is now expected to be in attendance as Spurs fight for their Premier League survival.

Tottenham need to beat Everton on Sunday to be sure of their Premier League survival, though one point will likely also be enough given Spurs’ superior goal difference over West Ham.