The situation in north London as of August 7 and 8, 2026 is still moving by the hour. Atlético Madrid want Cristian Romero, Diego Simeone wants him badly, and Fabrizio Romano has them as the clear frontrunners after their first official bid was turned down. A new offer is being prepared. Romero, by the reporting, wants the move to Spain. Personal terms with Atlético are said to be sorted.
All of that can be true, and Tottenham should still refuse to let him go for a discount.
Start with who this player is, because that's the whole argument. Romero captained Spurs to the 2025 Europa League final in Bilbao, where they beat Manchester United 1-0 to end a long wait for a trophy. He was named Player of the Match in that final, then handed the competition's Player of the Season award by UEFA's Technical Observer Group after seven appearances, and he made the Team of the Tournament. That's not a squad piece. That's the defender who dragged a club across the line for its biggest night in nearly two decades.
Then came the part that matters here. Ahead of last season Romero was named Tottenham captain after Son Heung-min left, and days later he signed a new long-term contract running to 2029. Atlético, per the reporting from that window, had been confident they could pull him out of London back then. Instead Spurs tied him down. That was a choice. You don't renew a captain twelve months ago and then wave him off for pennies the next summer.
Now the number, which is where the case makes itself. Atlético's opening move, according to Marca, was in the region of €30m. It was rejected. Inter Milan had already reportedly agreed a package with Spurs closer to €40m, even if the Italian side has its own complications (they reportedly need to sell Benjamin Pavard first, and haven't nailed down personal terms with the player). The consensus in early-August reporting puts Tottenham's real floor somewhere in the high-€30m-to-€40m range. Romano's framing is blunt: Atlético started low and will have to climb to that €40m mark.
When one suitor has already met your price and another opens well beneath it, you don't lower yourself to the cheaper bidder just because he's the one the player fancies. Tottenham's own line, as reported, is that they won't sanction an exit unless Atlético at least match what Inter offered, and they should hold that line.
There's a real counterpoint, and it deserves its due. Spurs have already signed Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke, moves widely read as preparing for Romero's departure. There have been several permanent exits this summer, and manager Roberto De Zerbi has signaled he won't stand in the way of players who want out. Put together, that looks like a club quietly resigned to selling, but being resigned to a sale isn't the same as being desperate for one. You can accept a player might leave and still make the buyer pay the going rate. Those two things sit fine together.
