According to Diario Sports, due to financial pressure, Barça is considering Romero as a signing target, as an alternative to Bastoni.
The report claims that the Barcelona sports management is currently considering Cristian Romero as an alternative signing, as a replacement for Bastoni. Bastoni is Barcelona's primary target for strengthening the defense this summer, and the club hopes to bring in this strong center-back to solidify the core strength of the defense.
Unlike the Italian Bastoni, Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero is a right-footed player who usually plays as a right center-back, which perfectly fits Flick and Deco's signing criteria, and is also an ideal candidate for the defensive position that Barcelona must strengthen this summer.
This Argentine international will participate in the World Cup with the national team, and his resume in major competitions is impressive: he won the Qatar World Cup as a main player, has a natural leadership temperament, is tenacious, and has excellent pressure resistance. He has fast movement speed, solid defensive positioning, strong one-on-one defense ability, and is aggressive in g, able to deal with various front-line opponents.
Barcelona has contacted Cristian Romero's team to express their willingness to sign him and assess the feasibility of the transfer. If Tottenham Hotspur are unfortunately relegated to the English Championship, the difficulty of advancing this deal will be greatly reduced, and Cristian Romero, like many Tottenham Hotspur teammates, has a relegation termination clause in his contract.
Cristian Romero will miss the team's cruel final stage of the season due to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee in the match against Sunderland, and will most likely have to wait until the World Cup to return.
Financial pressure is the core reason why Barcelona has to find an alternative to Bastoni. Deco has already made arrangements in advance and had in-depth discussions with Bastoni on the framework of a personal contract. The player himself is eager to join Barcelona, and Inter is well aware of this.
But Inter will never let him go easily. Bastoni is highly sought after among all European giants, and Inter has tagged him at €70 million , a transfer fee that far exceeds Barcelona's budget.
People inside Barcelona's training base remain optimistic about signing Bastoni. This signing is a key part of the team's efforts to reach the Champions League next season and improve overall competitiveness. The club believes that the player's personal wishes will ultimately prevail, and Bastoni is wholeheartedly yearning for the red and blue jersey. In the context of the team's financial restructuring and limited transfer budget, the player's subjective wishes are an important prerequisite for signings this summer.
Barcelona also hopes to make up for the regret of the 2025 summer window: at that time, Iñigo Martínez transferred to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia as a free agent, and the team failed to complete the replacement and reinforcement of the center-back position in a timely manner.
Whether it is the left center-back or right center-back position, Flick and Deco value the player's comprehensive characteristics more. Cristian Romero has absolute dominance in the backcourt, which is highly recognized by senior management. Considering that young defenders such as Cubarsí and Gerard Martín are still inexperienced, Cristian Romero's leadership role, defensive deterrence, and extreme handling ability under pressure are highly compatible with Bastoni.
Therefore, Cristian Romero's ranking in Barcelona's signing list has increased significantly, already surpassing Tottenham Hotspur's left center-back Van de Ven. This season, Deco has watched the Premier League on site many times to conduct field inspections of the performances of the two Tottenham Hotspur defenders.
Although German international Schlotterbeck has been recognized by his fellow countryman Flick, his priority is lower. The Borussia Dortmund center-back has completed a contract extension, which is highly binding. At this stage, the cost performance of signing him is extremely low, and he has basically withdrawn from the competition.
Deco has also inspected another candidate: 20-year-old Real Sociedad youth academy product and right-footed center-back Jon Martín. The player is worth about 20 million euros, has great potential and a promising future, but his short-term combat effectiveness is limited and cannot be compared with Bastoni and Cristian Romero.