De Zerbi Discusses Romero's Future and Respect for Player's Wishes

Roberto De Zerbi has laid bare the agreement sitting behind Cristian Romero’s push for a new challenge – and made it clear he has no intention of standing in the defender’s way.

The Spurs head coach, who arrived in April, explained that his first weeks at the club were spent in a whirlwind of one‑to‑one conversations, a crash course in understanding the dressing room he had inherited.

“At the beginning of my time, in April, I had, I don’t know, one million individual meetings,” De Zerbi said, as quoted by Metro. “And [the players] told me what was their idea. I said: ‘Yes, help me to stay up, and then I help you to leave’. If you don’t help me to stay up, you stay underwater with me!”

That was the pact. Survival first, futures later. Romero, De Zerbi stressed, kept his side of the bargain.

The Argentine centre-back, a cornerstone of Spurs’ defence, impressed his manager not just with performances but with attitude.

“But Romero with me was unbelievable. Top, in his behaviour, his respect, he suffered when he did not play the last game,” De Zerbi said.

The coach also moved quickly to shut down suggestions that Romero had angled for an early exit to focus on Argentina duties. “It is not true that he wanted to leave for Argentina to prepare for their World Cup. It’s not true.”

The relationship did not end with the final whistle of the season, either.

“After the semi-final [against England] we text a message, but I never called him to convince him to stay,” De Zerbi revealed. “I respected what he told me. Like for [Guglielmo] Vicario, like for every player.”

For De Zerbi, principle comes before power. He openly hailed Romero’s quality – “Romero as a player is one of the best centre-backs in the world” – yet still drew a clear line. The club may want to keep its stars, but he will not chain them to the project.

“At the end I said I want to respect the will of the players,” he concluded.

If Romero does move on, it will not be with a slammed door, but with a manager standing by the promise he made in those first “one million” meetings back in April.