Cristian Romero has described Tottenham Hotspur's threadbare squad as 'disgraceful' in a social media post that appears to criticise the club's January transfer window activity. The club captain made the comment on Instagram shortly after the window closed, during which Spurs signed Conor Gallagher and Souza while selling Brennan Johnson.
Romero, who played despite feeling ill in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Manchester City, was forced off at half-time. In his post, he wrote: 'Great effort from all my teammates yesterday, they were all incredible. I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn’t feeling well, especially as we had only 11 players available – unbelievable but true and disgraceful.' The post was liked by several teammates, including Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, and James Maddison.
Manager Thomas Frank defended Romero, saying he had not been fined, but added: 'When you’re a young leader sometimes you make mistakes. It is good to keep it internal.' Frank noted that he had a conversation with Romero about the matter.
This is not the first time Romero has caused controversy with his comments. In January, after a defeat to Bournemouth, he posted that 'other people should come out to speak' and accused them of 'telling a few lies.' He later deleted part of that post. Last summer, he appeared to criticise the club's lack of spending and expressed a desire to play in La Liga, before signing a new contract and being named captain.
Romero ended his latest post by thanking fans for their support. Frank is expected to face questions about the defender at his next press conference on Thursday.
