Cristian Romero's Exit Confirms Tottenham Are Selling From Weakness, Not Strength

Cristian Romero is leaving Tottenham this summer. That much is now confirmed, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that Inter Milan have already held talks with Spurs and that Barcelona are also tracking the 28-year-old centre-back.

But it is not simply the fact of Romero's exit that matters here. It is how he is being sold. Romano's reporting reveals that Romero has been offered by Tottenham as a makeweight during negotiations for Djed Spence, a fringe full-back Inter are trying to sign. A World Cup winner is being used as a sweetener in someone else's deal, and that detail tells you almost everything about where Tottenham currently stand.

Why Romero Is Being Let Go Now

Romero's departure cannot be separated from Tottenham's collapse as a club. Spurs have finished 17th in the Premier League in both 2024/25 and 2025/26, back-to-back seasons defined by managerial upheaval and transfer business that has repeatedly missed the mark.

Two Seasons of Chaos, Same Result: 17th

When a club finishes 17th twice running, no single player carries the blame, and Romero is far from the only underperformer in that period. Frequent changes in the dugout have made it almost impossible for any defender to build the consistency that the role demands.

• 2024/25: Tottenham finish 17th
• 2025/26: Tottenham finish 17th again
• Multiple managerial changes across both campaigns
• Persistent misfires in the transfer market

Against that backdrop, Romero's occasional lapses in discipline, the rash challenges and cards that have followed him through his Spurs career, look less like the defining problem and more like a symptom of a club without any settled structure around him.

A World Cup Winner Reduced to a Makeweight

Romero won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina and quickly became a fan favourite at Tottenham for his combative, borderline reckless style. That same aggression has occasionally worked against him in the Premier League, where officials have shown little patience for his edge.

Yet none of that changes the fact that a player of his pedigree should be sold on his own merits, not dangled as an add-on to smooth over an unrelated deal for a squad player. That Tottenham are willing to use him this way suggests either a lack of leverage in the market, a lack of patience to hold out for his true value, or both.

Inter's Complicated Pursuit: Money, Makeweights and the Spence Link

Romano's report makes clear that Inter's interest in Romero is tangled up with their separate pursuit of Spence. Tottenham held talks with the Italian club over recent days, and Romero was floated as an option during those discussions rather than as a standalone target.

The Valuation Gap

Inter are keen, but Romano is explicit that the costs involved are very high for a club operating under tighter financial constraints than some of their rivals. That valuation gap is now the single biggest obstacle to a move to Milan.

“EXCLUSIVE: Cuti Romero to leave Tottenham this summer, Inter held talks with Spurs over recent days. Romero has been offered as option during talks for Djed Spence. Inter keen but costs very high. Barça also like Cuti Romero.” — Fabrizio Romano

That framing matters. If Romero's price and destination become hostage to how the Spence negotiations play out, Tottenham risk losing control of a sale that should, on paper, be one of their stronger bargaining positions this summer.

Barcelona's Straightforward Approach

Barcelona's interest looks far cleaner by comparison. It fits a pattern the Catalan club have followed repeatedly, targeting proven, experienced defenders who can be signed for value rather than committing to unproven or unnecessarily expensive alternatives.

Unlike Inter, there is no reported makeweight complication attached to Barcelona's pursuit. If the two clubs end up in genuine competition for Romero, it may come down to which one can move fastest and cleanest, rather than which offers the more exciting project.

Serie A vs La Liga: The Betting Angle

For bettors tracking defensive markets in both competitions, Romero's eventual destination carries real weight. A move to Inter would bolster a title-chasing Serie A backline already among Europe's most disciplined, while a switch to Barcelona would hand Hansi Flick's side more experience at the back as they push on multiple fronts.

Romero's physical, combative style suited English football less cleanly than expected, and it remains to be seen whether Serie A's tactical discipline or La Liga's positional demands offer a better fit. Either way, oddsmakers in both leagues will be watching this one closely.

What Happens Next

The next move belongs to Tottenham as much as to Romero. Spurs need the fee, whatever it ends up being, to reinvest into a rebuild that is now overdue after two consecutive 17th-place finishes, and how that money is spent will shape next season's mid-table and relegation-market expectations around the club.

Inter's pursuit will likely stay tied to the Spence talks in the short term, meaning Tottenham may have to decide whether to decouple the two deals or risk both stalling together. Barcelona, with a more direct approach, could end up in pole position simply by avoiding that complication.

Whatever happens, Romero's exit will be remembered less for the transfer fee involved and more for how it exposed Tottenham's negotiating position this summer, a talented, World Cup-winning defender treated as a makeweight rather than sold on his own considerable merit.