Tottenham player Cristian Romero may have a reputation for being a ruthless defender on the pitch, but off it he can be said to have a heart of gold.
The Argentina international’s family have detailed how he used his first earnings from his football career to buy his mother her first-ever home.
“My birthday was approaching and three weeks before they took me to see different houses,” his mother, Rosa, told Argentina’s Super Deportivo Radio.
“I thought it was a house that Cuti wanted to buy for himself, because I always insisted that he invest in one. I didn't have my own house and when he showed me around, he asked me if I liked it.
“I was delighted, it was a very nice brand new house and suddenly he told me: ‘This house is your birthday present’.
“To this day I remember it and I can't speak much about it, I get emotional...”
Romero, 25, broke into senior football with Club Atletico Belgrano, the team based in his hometown of Cordoba.
Atfer two seasons, Italian club Genoa brought him to Europe before moves to Juventus, Atalanta and then Tottenham.
His father, Victor, recalled how he knew nothing of Romero’s plans to surprise his mother.
“With his first salary, I remember he called his mother and asked her to choose the house she wanted,” he said. “He then gave the house to his mother.”
