Cristian Romero is no longer a target for one of Europe’s biggest clubs as Tottenham continue their efforts to find the centre-back a new team.
The writing was always on the wall for the centre-back after he decided to fly back to Argentina before the club’s final game of last season, only to return to London amid the backlash from fans and the media.
Roberto De Zerbi made it clear he will not try to convince Romero to stay at Tottenham and over the last few days, several outlets have claimed that Spurs and Inter are edging close to an agreement on the 28-year-old.
In fact, some sources believe that only an agreement on personal terms is missing ahead of Romero’s €40m (£34m) move to San Siro, but other clubs are also keeping an eye on the situation.
Barcelona have withdrawn from the race for Tottenham’s Cristian Romero
Over recent days, it has been reported that Romero’s representatives have spoken to Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, amid the Nerazzurri’s inability to agree personal terms with the centre-back.
However, Football Insider now claim that Barcelona have decided to withdraw from the race for the 28-year-old Spurs star.
While the World Cup winner was a ‘leading target’ for the Catalan club as they looked to bolster their backline, they are now ready to back out of the pursuit.
This is because the cost of the operation to take the Tottenham Hotspur captain to Camp Nou proved prohibitive.
Journalist claims Atletico Madrid remain interested in Romero
Football Insider also spoke to journalist Pete O’Rourke, who suggested that Barca may not be able to afford a deal for the experienced centre-back, due to their financial difficulties.
However, he revealed that Diego Simeone’s men continue to be at the table for Romero’s signature, with Atletico wanting to add further reinforcements to their defence.
O’Rourke said: “There’ll be a lot of clubs who would be interested in Romero. Roberto de Zerbi’s admitted that the player is likely to move on. Atletico Madrid are long-term admirers of Romero. Barcelona have also been credited with an interest in the Argentine as well.
“But a lot will depend on Tottenham’s asking price for Romero. That might be difficult for Barcelona to do as they’re asking for a huge fee. We know Barcelona have had financial difficulties recently, so whether or not they’d be able to stump up the funds for Romero, it looks unlikely at the moment.
“Atletico Madrid would be interested if they can try and get a deal done and, as I said, if they do want to strengthen their backline further I’m sure they would consider making a move for Romero.”