Cristian Romero wears an armband but he is not a captain. Tottenham need to sell him this summer

It is time for Tottenham Hotspur supporters to accept something which they have known deep down for a long time.

Cristian Romero is often presented as a great footballer who has the occasional moment of madness. In reality, it is the other way around. The constant drama Romero causes outweighs his quality and Spurs should sell him this summer.

Romero was appointed as captain at the beginning of the season by then head coach Thomas Frank and signed a new long-term contract, which made him one of the club’s highest-paid players. Leaders need to push their egos to one side. They need to take accountability when things go wrong and are required to be selfless. Romero is the complete opposite.

The Argentina international’s decision to miss Spurs’ final game of the season against Everton is an insult to his team-mates and the supporters. Spurs need to beat Everton on Sunday to guarantee their top-flight status for next season, although a draw will likely be enough even if West Ham United, who are two points below them and occupy the final relegation spot, beat Leeds United, due to Tottenham’s superior goal difference (-10 vs -22).

Instead of supporting the club that pays his salary and the squad he spends every day with, the 28-year-old will be in Argentina watching his boyhood club Belgrano take on River Plate in a championship decider.

Romero was ruled out for the rest of the season in April after suffering a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury when Sunderland forward Brian Brobbey pushed him into Tottenham’s goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.

On Friday, the Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi said that Romero had spoken with the club’s medical staff and they had decided that the defender would “go to Argentina to complete the rehab with the Argentinian medical staff” ahead of the World Cup.

“We spoke last week. He showed always he wanted to stay with us. He’s already injured. We have to accept. I’m not stupid. If I understand that there is any player who thinks of himself before the club, I can’t be the same Roberto. But with Cuti Romero, I can’t say anything — with me, in my time, he has been correct from the beginning until now.

“He can’t change anything, Romero, if he is at the stadium or not.”

De Zerbi did admit that he “100 per cent” understands fans’ anger over Romero’s decision to miss a match that is so critically important to the club he captains.

“Not all leaders are the same,” De Zerbi. “Ben Davies spoke with me and asked today to stay with us. Tomorrow, we sleep in the lodge in the hotel and he wanted to stay with his team-mates. But Romero is preparing for the World Cup (with) his injury.”

After initially suffering the injury, De Zerbi said he felt “sorry” for the centre-back.

“Romero, first of all, loves Tottenham and the people have to know he is suffering for this injury,” De Zerbi said before last month’s 2-2 draw with Brighton. “He is suffering because he can’t play anymore for us this season but he is a great captain for us, for Tottenham.” Those words ring hollow now.

The collision which ended Romero’s season for Tottenham (MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

De Zerbi has previously called Romero a “crucial player” and, in theory, is perfectly suited to his style of play. The Italian wants his team to dominate the ball and Romero’s quality in possession under pressure is exceptional. When Mathys Tel scored against Leeds United, Romero ran onto the pitch and wiped out set-piece coach Andreas Georgson in the process. Before this week’s defeat to Chelsea, De Zerbi revealed they talk regularly over the phone and Romero would visit his office every morning.

Prioritising Belgrano undermines all of this.

“Romero is a great player and the most important is the behaviour and how much the player wants to stay in this club,” De Zerbi said last week when asked about the defender’s future. “We are going to take all the decisions after this season and after the Everton game.”

Does missing your club’s biggest game in a generation qualify as good behaviour? De Zerbi has stressed that avoiding relegation is “more important” than winning a trophy. Romero has failed to understand this, or simply does not care.

Maybe we could just about forgive Romero’s actions if he wasn’t partially responsible for this mess. Romero has produced some great performances this season. He dragged Spurs over the line with dramatic equalisers against Newcastle United and Burnley. However, he has been a liability on multiple occasions.

Spurs were piling pressure on Liverpool in December when Romero won a free kick but was sent off for kicking Ibrahima Konate. Xavi Simons had already been shown a red card, so Spurs were left with nine men for the last few minutes of stoppage time.

(Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Liverpool’s head coach Arne Slot admitted after the game that, following Xavi’s dismissal, “I thought it would mean that it was a bit easier but in reality it wasn’t”, “because it was attack after attack after attack.” Romero’s red card gutted Spurs’ momentum and ruined any hopes of an equaliser.

Spurs started positively at Old Trafford in February until Romero was sent off for a reckless challenge on Bruno Fernandes. Frank’s gameplan was ripped up and Manchester United comfortably won 2-0.

(James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Romero has been sent off six times, more than any other Premier League player.

He has racked up 44 yellow cards across all competitions, which is behind Moises Caicedo (60), Joelinton (58), Bernardo Silva (49), Bruno Fernandes and his team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur (both 45).

Concerningly, Romero and Bentancur have played significantly fewer games and minutes than the others.

Then there are his off-field antics.

Following a 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth on January 7, Romero criticised senior figures at Tottenham. “At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don’t, as has been happening for several years now,” Romero wrote on Instagram. “They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies. We’ll stay here, working, sticking together and giving our all to turn things around.”

He doubled down a few weeks later, following a 2-2 draw with Manchester City. Romero was substituted at half-time due to illness.

“I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn’t feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available — unbelievable but true and disgraceful,” the post, which was uploaded shortly after the winter transfer window closed, said.

Frank and sporting director Johan Lange refused to confirm in interviews whether Romero was internally punished for his outbursts. Whether you agree with him or not, the captain should not be publicly exposing any rifts behind the scenes. It risks creating more tension and, if we are being completely honest, comes across as self-serving when you consider his recent actions.

Frank’s decision to promote Romero from vice-captain will probably go down as one of the biggest mistakes of his reign. He has been a poor and inconsistent role model.

(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Romero’s decision to fly to South America to support Belgrano looks even worse when you compare him to James Maddison. If anyone had a free pass for checking out of this messy and miserable campaign, it was Maddison, after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during a pre-season friendly in South Korea. Maddison has worked incredibly hard to return for the final three games. He travelled with the squad to away matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa, even though he was never going to play. He was spotted standing up behind the bench at Wolves, dishing out advice to his team-mates.

Maddison has made two appearances this season for a grand total of 26 minutes. Yet he has shown accountability by describing Tottenham’s predicament as “unacceptable” and “embarrassing” in an interview with Sky Sports after the defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The 29-year-old has demonstrated he would have been the perfect candidate to replace Son Heung-min as captain if he had been fully fit.

There have been a few highlights during Romero’s five-year spell in north London, including last season’s Europa League final, but Spurs need to reinvent themselves this summer after consecutive years of drastic underperformance domestically.

Romero will probably demonstrate his quality at this summer’s World Cup, but he has let Spurs down too many times. Regardless of what division they are in next season, an overhaul of the squad should start with their beleaguered captain.