Tottenham defender Cristian Romero admits he almost quit football when a youngster with Belgrano.

Romero is now a World Cup winner with Argentina.

But he recalled to Sky Sports: “I didn’t play well in a few games, and then the management said some really tough things about me. It was a really difficult time. I was so young, it was my first year at senior level. Then I sat on the bench for a year and a half, always alone, always played with the reserves.

“I said that I didn’t want to train anything more. That I should give up football. I was thinking of taking a job with my dad, or something else. All because they stood in the way of my career.

“I didn’t train for two or three days because I didn’t feel like it. Then the sports director came to me and said: ‘Okay, you can leave’.”

Romero would eventually move to Italy with Genoa before ending up at Tottenham last year.