Richarlison and Romero have awkward first encounter at Spurs training after previous spats

Callum Boyle

They’ll be best of friends now

Christian Romero and new Tottenham Hotspur signing Richarlison put their previous differences aside as they exchanged a hug during training.

The two have been long-standing rivals but following the Brazilian’s £60m move from Everton, will now be on the same side as opposed to going up against each other.

A video released on Spurs’ social media showed the two meeting in the canteen for the first time as the rest of the squad watched on to see how they would react.

Thankfully it looked as if the two had put their differences aside, much to the delight of the rest of the onlooking players, who had clearly been made aware of the love-hate relationship between the pair.

*everyone liked that* pic.twitter.com/Ejbnp0pMxG

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 9, 2022

How did the rivalry start?

Richarlison and Romero clashed multiple times last season – both at international and domestic level – including in both fixtures between Everton and Spurs.

The rivalry was born after a comment made by Richarlison in September, 2021 in the aftermath of a World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil, which was suspended, after Romero and three of his Argentinian teammates were accused of breaking covid regulations.

Brazil’s national health surveillance agency ANVISA came onto the pitch and demanded the instant deportation of Romero, Giovani Lo Celso, Emiliano Buendia and Emiliano Martinez after claiming they hadn’t followed the correct guidelines to enter the country. The game was cancelled and Richarlison commented on the events, saying: “Anvisa 1-0 Argentina.”

The battle continued at club level too

This came after the forward mocked Argentina’s early exit at the Tokyo Olympics earlier that year before the two clashed on the pitch and both players booked for a heated confrontation.

Romero would get the last laugh however after Spurs’s 5-0 win against the Toffees in March, 2022, posting a picture of Richarlison on the floor after a challenge from the defender.