Tottenham forced Cuti Romero back to England, where is Cuti? | OneFootball

After the criticism sparked by his appearance in Argentina once the Pirate reached the Apertura final, the defender had to return to England without even staying to witness the showdown against River.

While his decision to travel to Argentina and be seen around Belgrano ahead of the Apertura Tournament final against River continues to stir controversy, it has now been completely ruled out that Cristian Romero will join the Pirate in Córdoba against River in the pursuit of being crowned champions in Argentine football. He quickly flew back to England and is already in London, where he will continue recovering from his injury and will be able to support his Tottenham teammates as they fight to stay in the Premier League.

What began as a nice gesture and a passionate display from the defender quickly turned into a wave of criticism. The Córdoba native showed up in Argentina on Monday, the day after the Pirate’s historic qualification for the final, just as he had promised hours earlier on social media in reaction to the sky-blue side’s semifinal win over Argentinos Juniors. At the time, on this side of the globe, people celebrated his sense of belonging to the club where he began his football career, but across the ocean the news went down badly, since he is the captain of a Tottenham side in serious crisis.

To make matters worse, Spurs lost to Chelsea on Tuesday and further complicated their situation, with the season’s defining moment coming this Sunday against Everton: they must win to avoid relegation without depending on other results. Meanwhile, Cuti had been seen training at Belgrano’s facilities as part of his return plan after the knee ligament injury that has kept him sidelined for a month, but that did nothing to stop the controversy from escalating to the point that his coach, Roberto De Zerbi, had to explain the situation.

“He spoke with the doctors. Together they decided to go to Argentina to complete rehab with the Argentine medical staff. We spoke last week. He’s injured, I’m not stupid. If I feel that any player is thinking about himself before the club, I can’t be the same,” the coach said as the snowball of repercussions grew, going beyond social media and even leading prestigious outlets to call for him to be “sold this European summer,” as Jay Harris wrote in The Athletic. Many club supporters also began rooting for River in the final over what they saw as a snub.

In that context, Romero was unable to make it to Sunday in Córdoba, and just as quickly as he arrived in the country, he turned up back in England. This Saturday, he posted an Instagram story with his son at a British barbershop, and some were quick to compare it with images from earlier this month, casting doubt on when the photo was actually taken. In any case, the truth is that the center back is in London and will remain there through his recovery, expected to last until June 1, when he will join the Argentina national team in Kansas.

With Romero already in the English capital, Pirate president Luis Artime gave a confusing message during the fans’ rally ahead of the title decider: “No, I don’t know if he’s going. There was a... there’s a report going around (SIC). The truth is he’s training at our facility because he’s getting ready for the national team, he’s injured and today he has to prepare himself as best as possible.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.