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Cristian Romero, the newly signed defender for Atletico Madrid, expressed confidence in his fellow Argentine and teammate Julian Alvarez, describing him as “really focused” and determined to continue scoring despite recent transfer speculation.
Romero, who joined Atletico from Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year contract worth 40 million euros ($47 million), shared his impressions during his unveiling, having observed Alvarez closely since arriving at the club.
“Julian, I see him doing very well,” Romero told reporters. “I’ve been here for five or six days and I see him as always, a guy who wants to keep scoring goals, keep entertaining people, and I see him really focused.”
Transfer Speculation Surrounding Alvarez
Over the summer, Alvarez, formerly of Manchester City, publicly expressed a desire to leave Atletico amid interest from Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid. Despite his wishes, Atletico Madrid held firm and retained the striker for the upcoming season.
Both Romero and Alvarez, who were part of Argentina’s squad that finished as runners-up in the 2022 World Cup, did not feature in Atletico’s 2-0 victory against Malaga in their La Liga opening match on Wednesday.
Head coach Diego Simeone highlighted the importance of Alvarez to the team’s plans, stating his intention to build the squad around the forward. At the same time, Simeone emphasized Romero’s leadership qualities, a role the World Cup winner is eager to embrace.
“(Simeone) asked me to be a leader on the pitch, to help my team-mates,” Romero said. “I hope to be up to the challenge and carve my name into the history of this great club.”
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