Tottenham: Romero and Richarlison ‘considered quitting if Antonio Conte had stayed’

Tottenham duo Cristian Romero and Richarlison issued ultimatums over their futures at the club if Antonio Conte had remained in charge, according to reports in Argentina.

The Italian was sacked by chairman Daniel Levy on Sunday after an astonishing outburst blasting his own players following the club collapsed to draw 3-3 at the Premier League’s bottom club Southampton.

It has been claimed by Argentine journalist Gaston Edul that Romero and Richarlison’s relationship with him reached breaking point and that they considered quitting Spurs in the wake of the boss’ brutal criticism.

His shocking tirade alienated several members of his team, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg urging Conte to be more ‘precise’ with his comments. 

And Edul told Argentine TV channel TyC Sports: ‘Conte’s relationship with the squad was very bad, it’s needless to say, it’s something that we could see in his words.

Italian boss Conte was dismissed at the weekend after a shocking tirade aimed at his players

Chairman Daniel Levy may have had to deal with player revolt if Conte had remained in charge

‘Some players had given an ultimatum in case he continued. Now the outlook of Tottenham changed.’

And when asked if players had issued ultimatums if Conte had stayed, Edul confirmed the theory – before naming the pair who spoke out.

He added: ‘Yes, I say that because we can say it, in fact we waited to say it. ‘Cristian Romero was rethinking about his stay at the club if Conte remained. As I understand it, the same thing happened with Richarlison.

‘Because he treated them very badly, not only face to face or in a private environment but also publicly. Conte publicly criticised the players and that caused friction. But now Romero is going to stay at Tottenham, that’s the plan.’

Edul is said to have a strong contacts book in South America. with Romero hailing from Argentina…