Cristian Romero has been speaking about the emotions of playing in the North London Derby and about Lionel Messi’s comments describing him as the best centre-back in the world.
Romero is now into his third season at Tottenham and is thus no stranger to North London Derbies, having been on the winning and losing side in the fixture.
The centre-back’s trips to the Emirates have not been memorable over the past couple of years, with Spurs falling to defeats under both Nuno Espirito and Antonio Conte.
However, the centre-back and his Spurs teammates delivered a battling display to emerge with a 2-2 draw from their rivals’ home ground two weeks ago.
While Romero did marshal the backline impressively in that game, he did have a couple of difficult moments, sending Bukayo Saka’s cross into his net in the first half before giving away a penalty after being adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box at the start of the second period.
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Cristian Romero on the North London Derby
When asked about his experience of playing against Arsenal, the 25-year-old told El Diario De Carlos Paz: “I compare it to a Belgrano vs. Talleres, which I had to play when I was in Argentina. The fans are different, it’s true, but the intensity and emotions that come through you inside are the same.”
Romero has been described as the best central defender in the world by some of his international teammates, including Messi and midfielder Rodrigo de Paul (Mirror).
When asked about those comments, the Spurs star said: “Leo said this? I didn’t know that. I’m grateful that words like that come from the best player in the history of football, I’m not saying it because he’s Argentinian but because I like football.
“When he says something like that about me it’s very nice. I didn’t know if he had really said it, I saw some things on social media but I didn’t know if they were true.”
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You can tell that Romero feels much more ownership of the current Spurs side, now that he is part of the club’s new leadership group under Postecoglou and the most experienced player in the backline.
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