Cristian Romero Joins Atlético Madrid for €40m as Tottenham Retain 15% Sell-On

Cristian Romero — 28 years old, 156 Tottenham appearances, 13 goals, 6 career titles, 2026 World Cup finalist, and Europa League Player of the Season — has agreed a move to Atlético Madrid in a €40 million (£34.2m) package including add-ons, with Spurs retaining a 15% sell-on clause.

The Deal — Agreement in Place

Atlético Madrid have agreed a deal in principle with Tottenham to sign Cristian Romero. The package is in the region of £34.2m (€40m) with add-ons, and a 15% sell-on clause is included.

The 28-year-old centre-back has already agreed personal terms with the La Liga club and is expected to sign a four-year contract with the option of a further year. A medical remains the final major hurdle before the move can be completed.

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano confirmed the completion of negotiations with his trademark “Here We Go” announcement.

The 28-year-old is set to become Atlético’s fourth signing of the summer.

The Long Road to La Liga — A Summer of Suitors

This transfer did not emerge from nowhere. Romero’s desire to play in Spain has been an open secret throughout the entire summer window.

Inter Milan had previously agreed a similar fee with Spurs but failed to finalise personal terms. Arsenal showed late interest, though Tottenham were unwilling to sell their captain to their local rivals. Barcelona’s pursuit cooled, leaving Atlético in pole position.

Romero had made clear his preference for a move to Spain and the chance to work under fellow Argentine Diego Simeone.

Given Romero’s desire to move on, Spurs have had to settle on selling the World Cup winner for a fee that is less than double what they were looking for prior to him signing that new deal last summer.

The Sell-On Clause — Spurs Protect Themselves

The deal stands at a €40m package including add-ons, with Spurs retaining a 15% sell-on. That clause is a significant piece of business by the North London club, ensuring they benefit from any future Romero transfer should Atlético eventually move him on.

A Difficult Final Season at Spurs

Despite being sent off twice last season during Spurs’ Premier League relegation battle, the 28-year-old played a pivotal role in helping the club avoid the drop, making 32 appearances across all competitions while contributing 6 goals and 4 assists during a campaign that tested the resolve of everyone at the club.

In the 2025/26 Premier League season, Cristian Romero recorded 4 goals, 1 assist, 1,872 minutes, an average FotMob rating of 7.06, 9 yellow cards and 2 red cards.

He made 2.78 tackles and 1.49 interceptions for every 90 minutes on the pitch, averaging 4.46 clearances at the same time.

Romero scored 4 goals in 23 Premier League matches, with 1 at home and 3 in away games. Those 4 goals placed him 3rd in the Tottenham squad’s Top Scorers list — a remarkable return for a centre-back in a side fighting relegation.

He missed the end of the campaign due to a knee injury. Romero received criticism from supporters when he appeared to be set to watch his boyhood club Belgrano play River Plate instead of being at Tottenham’s crucial last game against Everton — though he did attend the final game of the season, in which Spurs secured Premier League survival.

5 Years at Tottenham — The Legacy in Numbers

He leaves Tottenham after five seasons, having made 156 appearances for them and scoring 13 times, following an initial campaign on loan from Atalanta in 2021.

He has 16 goals, 7 assists, 39 clean sheets and 19 blocked shots in 211 top-5 league appearances and 2 goals, 3 assists, 7 clean sheets and 4 blocked shots in 22 UCL appearances.

Throughout his career, Cristian Romero has won 6 titles: the J.League World Challenge (2024) and the Europa League (2024/25) with Tottenham Hotspur, the Copa América (2024, USA and 2021, Brazil), the World Cup (2022, Qatar), and the CONMEBOL/UEFA Finalissima (2022) with Argentina.

He was named Player of the Match in the Europa League Final and earned a place in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League Team of the Season alongside team-mates Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro and Dominic Solanke.

He also played for Argentina during their run to the 2026 World Cup final, missing just 1 game throughout the tournament.

Player Profile

Romero joined Tottenham from Atalanta in 2021, initially on loan, before a permanent deal worth around £42–43 million.

Career Season-by-Season Form

Career Club Timeline

Simeone Gets His Man — The Bigger Picture

Simeone has long coveted the Argentine — a fellow countryman with the aggression, intensity and defensive resilience that defines an Atlético Madrid back line. After failing to sign him last summer when Spurs demanded a fee closer to £60m, the transfer concludes weeks of negotiations, providing Diego Simeone with a key defensive target ahead of the new La Liga campaign.

For Tottenham, selling a 28-year-old captain with 2 years left on a then-2029 deal for €40m — while retaining a 15% sell-on — represents a pragmatic conclusion to a prolonged saga. A player who won the Europa League Player of the Season in 2025 and reached the 2026 World Cup final departs with his legacy in North London firmly intact, even if the final chapter carried turbulence.

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