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Do Tottenham Hotspur have one of, if not the best centre-half in the world right now? Quite possibly, and here’s everything you need to know about Cristian Romero.
Since joining Spurs in 2021, the fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have seen the best and the worst of Cristian Romero; from commanding and composed defending, to wildly erratic behaviour.
He’s calmed down a lot of late, though, and has earned praise across the world for his performances at club level, and in particular at international level.
Romero is a key figure in Thomas Frank’s squad and is the club captain, so it’s important we learn everything we can about the Argentina star. Time for a look at his career to date, how much Romero is worth, and what his nickname is all about.
Cristian Romero’s Tottenham career explained
Romero joined Tottenham on loan from Atalanta for the 2021/22 season and proved to be a revelation. The club made the move permanent the following summer for a fee of around £42m.
He very quickly showcased his brilliant defensive awareness and fans fell in love with his highly passionate displays. However, Romero’s rash tackling and overzealous approach sometimes landed him in hot water, with ill discipline a real issue across his first two years with the club, having picked up four red cards.
Under Ange Postecoglou, and with the addition of Micky van de Ven in the defence next to him, however, Romero calmed down a lot and is now very rarely in trouble with the referees. He has also added goals to his game, and was one of the top-scoring centre-halves of the 2023/24 Premier League season, as well as scoring key goals in the 2025/26 campaign.
Romero was appointed one of Postecoglou’s vice-captains for the 2024/25 campaign, but when Heung-min Son left the club last summer, Thomas Frank made the decision to make Romero the club captain.
Amid struggles on the pitch and frustration from the fans off it, Romero has always been vocal in discussing the issues and being honest about the way the players feel. He has been known to hit out at the Tottenham hierarchy, too, but his openness has to be commended.
Romero’s career before Spurs
Romero began his career in his homeland, with Argentinian outfit Belgrano. He developed through the club’s academy before stepping up to the Belgrano first-team, but he didn’t spend too long there; after just 19 senior appearances he was off to Italy to join Genoa.
Romero moved to Genoa in 2018, before sealing a transfer to Juventus a year later, but he was loaned straight back to his former club for the 2019/20 season. He ended up making 60 appearances for Genoa in total, and they are his second-most represented club now after Tottenham.
Juventus then loaned Romero to Atalanta for the 2020/21 season and that move was made permanent in August 2021. So, Romero never actually made an appearance for Juventus, but he did shine while with Atalanta. He was named Serie A’s best defender in 2021, which caught the attention of Spurs.
Cristian Romero’s market value and salary
Cristian Romero is currently valued at around £52m based on Transfermarkt data, but Tottenham Hotspur would very likely put a much higher price tag around his neck.
Back in 2024, Spurs were demanding around £150m for Romero after Real Madrid showed an interest in the defender. More recently, former Tottenham scout Bryan King said Romero would cost £70m if another club were to come in for him.
In terms of his contract, Romero is the top earner at Tottenham. He currently earns £195,000 per week or £10.14m per year (according to Capology). Xavi Simons also earns the same amount, while James Maddison is just behind on £170,000 per week.
His current deal runs to 2029, with Romero having signed a new contract back in August 2025.
Cuti nickname explained
You may have seen Cristian Romero referred to as Cuti, with Spurs and Argentina players often using the nickname. Turns out, that name originates from Romero’s sister and their childhood together.
An article from The Athletic previously revealed the source of this nickname, explaining that Romero was unable to say Cristian as a child, so his sister, Aldana, shortened it to Cuti to make it easier for him.
Though we’re sure he can now say his own name, Romero has kept using the nickname and even has it in his social media handles.
Cristian Romero has won multiple trophies and awards
Since establishing himself as part of the Argentina setup, Cristian Romero has won everything going, including the World Cup, the Copa America, and the CONMEBOL UEFA Cup of Champions trophy.
Romero made his Argentina debut in June 2021, with a double-header of World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia. He scored against the latter to get his international career off to a great start.
Despite a couple of injuries that summer, Romero played a part in Argentina’s Copa America win, including helping his side keep a clean sheet in the 1-0 win over Brazil in the final.
Argentina won the CONMEBOL Champions title in January 2022, with Romero playing 85 minutes of the game against Italy, where his country won 3-0.
His crowning moment, however, came in the World Cup of 2022. After a shaky start in the opening group game against Saudi Arabia, Romero was dropped to the bench. He made an impressive cameo appearance in the next group game, though, and didn’t look back.
Romero played every game for Argentina in the tournament, including a standout performance in the final, where he managed to keep Kylian Mbappe at bay.
Argentina also retained the Copa America title in 2024 summer, with Romero playing every minute of five of the six matches along the way.
He has now captained Argentina on two occasions,, against Chile and Venezuala; both of which ended up being 1-0 wins for his side.
Cristian Romero’s personal information and family life
Romero was born in Cordoba, Argentina, on April 27, 1998. He is 1.85m tall, and weighs 78kg.
His full name is Cristian Gabriel Romero. He is married to Karen Cavaller, and they have two children together: a son named Valentino and a girl named Lucy, who was born in 2024.
Romero has five million followers on Instagram, and over 300,000 followers on X.
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