Cristian Romero

Belgrano

Having joined the youth team in 2014, Romero was promoted to Argentine Primera División side Belgrano's first team in 2016; his debut came on 28 August, in a league match with Independiente. One month later, Romero played in both of Belgrano's 2016 Copa Sudamericana round of 16 draws against Coritiba. In two seasons with Belgrano's first-team, he made nineteen appearances in all competitions.

Genoa

In July 2018, Romero joined Genoa of Serie A. He scored his first senior goal in his second Genoa match, netting in a 2–2 draw with Udinese on 28 October, only to be sent off later.

Juventus

On 9 July 2019, Juventus announced Romero was having a medical ahead of a requested transfer.

Return to Genoa (loan)

On 12 July 2019, Juventus announced the permanent acquisition of Romero from Genoa for €26 million, with the player remaining at his former club on loan for the rest of the season.

Atalanta

On 5 September 2020, Romero joined Atalanta on loan until 30 June 2022 with an option to buy. He was elected the best defender of the 2020–21 Serie A season.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 6 August 2021, Juventus announced that Atalanta had activated the option to sign Romero for €16 million. Later that day, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur announced his signing from Atalanta on an initial season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent. Romero was given the number 4 shirt following the departure of Toby Alderweireld.

Romero debuted for the club on 15 August, coming on as a late substitute for Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in a match against Manchester City that Tottenham won 1–0. On 19 August 2021, he made his first start in the UEFA Europa Conference League first leg tie against Paços de Ferreira, which ended in a 1–0 defeat. He suffered an injury for Argentina against Brazil on 16 November, ruling him out for the rest of 2021.

He returned after over 2 months out, on 5 February 2022, starting in the 3-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, in the FA Cup. On 16 March, Romero scored his first goal for Tottenham in a 2–0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Romero was awarded Player of the Match in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool on 12 May, but also suffered another injury, this time a hip injury, keeping him out of the crucial game against Arsenal and the remainder of the season. Tottenham went on to finish 4th that season as Romero was labelled "Signing of the Season" by Jamie Carragher.

Ahead of the 2022–23 Premier League season, Romero changed his shirt number from 4 to 17, as it wasn't available in the summer he joined due to Moussa Sissoko occupying it. It's his favourite number, wearing it on his variety debut at Club Atlético Belgrano.

Tottenham faced rivals Chelsea on 14 August, in a fiery London derby that ended 2-2. Romero was involved amongst the controversy for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair in the corner before Harry Kane equalised. Mike Dean, who was the referee on VAR that day, later said he was wrong to not request an on-field review and Romero left unpunished.

On 18 December, Romero won the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina defeating France and club captain Hugo Lloris in the final. Romero became only the third Tottenham player to win the FIFA World Cup.

On 5 February, Romero was sent off in the 1-0 win over Manchester City receiving 2 yellow cards. Romero served his one-match suspension as Tottenham were defeated 4-1 by Leicester City. Romero saw red again against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, accumulating 2 yellow cards, the second being a "wild" challenge on Théo Hernandez. Tottenham went on to get eliminated 1-0 on aggregate.

Ahead of the 2023–24 Premier League season, Romero was named as one of Tottenham's vice-captains.

On 13 August, he scored the first goal of the Ange Postecoglou era, the opener in a 2-2 draw against Brentford. He made a strong start to the season, being described by manager Ange Postecoglou as the "rock" in Tottenham's defence, and earning a nomination for the Player of the Month award in October.

On 6 November 2023, Romero was shown a straight red card during Tottenham's 4–1 loss to rivals Chelsea. It was his fourth red card since moving to the Premier League, more than any other player in that time. Romero scored on his return from suspension, Tottenham's only goal in a 2–1 loss to West Ham United.

On 28 April, Romero scored against Arsenal in a 3-2 North London derby defeat, his fifth goal of the season and fourth in London Derbies that year.

In the 2024-25 Premier League season he made his 100th appearance for Tottenham on 24 August, scoring in a 4-0 win over Everton.

Romero suffered a foot injury on international break for Argentina against Paraguay on 14 November, a problem he suffered against Aston Villa 2 weeks prior.

Atlético Madrid

On 15 August 2026, Romero signed for La Liga club Atlético Madrid on a five-year contract. The transfer fee was reportedly £34.2 million. On 10 October, Romero scored his first goal for Atlético, a late winner in the 2-1 win over Deportivo Alavés.

Youth

Romero has represented Argentina at the U20 level, winning seven caps at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship in Ecuador. In April 2017, he was called up for Argentina's training camp ahead of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea but was not selected on the tournament squad list. Romero was called up for the U23s in September 2019.

Senior

On 3 June 2021, Romero debuted for the senior national team a World Cup qualifier against Chile, playing the full match. In his second game for Argentina on 8 June, he scored his first international goal, coming from a thumping header against Colombia after only 130 seconds. This goal also broke the record for the fastest ever scored for Argentina in a professional match, surpassing Diego Maradona's goal after 168 seconds against Venezuela in 1985.

In June 2021, Romero was included in Lionel Scaloni's final Argentina 28-man squad for the 2021 Copa América and the Team of the Tournament at the end as Argentina won the competition. Romero was also an integral part of the Argentinian team which won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, in which he started in six out of seven matches including the final.

In June 2024, Romero was included in Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the 2024 Copa América.

On 27 May 2026, Romero was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On 7 July 2026, Romero scored his first World Cup goal in the round of 16 match against Egypt, netting in the 79th minute to spark a comeback as Argentina overturned a two-goal deficit to win 3–2.

On 15 July 2026, following Argentina's 2–1 victory over England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, Romero, who was then captain of English club Tottenham Hotspur, was one of several Argentina players who displayed a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Falkland Islands are Argentine"). The display was criticised by the British government, which called for FIFA to investigate whether it breached tournament regulations prohibiting political messages by players.