Cristian Romero has blasted Gary Neville and hopes to never be like the ex-England star when he hangs up the boots.
Neville boldly declared in the lead-up to England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina that Romero and his defensive partner Lisandro Martinez were the ‘best, worst centre-half pairing in the world’.
Neville stirred the pre-match pot
“They seem to give a goal away between them every single game,” Neville said on The Overlap.
“But you watch them (for Argentina), they are scoring goals, heading the ball, they’re literally everywhere – it’s incredible.
“I call them the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world. Because at times they can be unbelievable, but the next, it’s the sublime to the ridiculous.”
Neville’s comments eventually worked their way back to Romero and Martinez, who both started in Argentina’s thrilling come-from-behind win over England.
Romero: Neville’s comments had Martinez and I ‘on fire’
And Romero came armed with a stinging response during a post-match interview.
“Lisandro and me, we were on fire before the game because of what Gary Neville said,” Romero told DSPORTS.
“In England, they love to speak before. We send him a big hug… I hope I’ll not be like him when I retire, I will not criticise the players.
“The only thing that I hope for is that when I retire, I am not that stupid.
“Hopefully I won’t criticise a player or anyone. Because at the end of the day, we are doing our best for our national team.
“Sometimes it goes right for us, sometimes badly, but we are just happy to be in a World Cup final again.
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“I think we are making history, for us it is something really huge, and we feel the significance of this shirt like no-one else.”
Martinez added: “We’re used to people always talking about us.
“It seems they like doing it, and we respond on the pitch, that’s it, always with respect.”
What’s next for Argentina?
For Romero and Martinez, who were both booked in the semi-final triumph over England, they are now one step closer to defending their World Cup crown.
Argentina are bidding to become the first team to retain the World Cup in 64 years, with Brazil the last nation to achieve the feat.
To do that, they must defeat a rampant Spain side who eased to a 2-0 win over France in the other semi-final.
The World Cup final between Argentina and Spain will take place on Sunday at 8pm.
