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Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo’s impending move to Liverpool is impacting Atlético Madrid’s pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur‘s Cristian Romero. The Argentina international wants to leave Spurs and Inter Milan have been working on signing him. The Serie A winners agreed a €40m deal with Tottenham while the move became complicated after Atlético entered the race. On Friday, we relayed news of Roberto De Zerbi’s rejecting the Madrid club’s initial €30m bid. Diego Simeone’s side have been optimistic because the 28-year-old favoured them over Inter Milan. That may not be the case because of Liverpool’s eyebrow raising deal for the Uruguay international. Liverpool signing indirectly impacting Atlético Late on Friday, Andoni Iraola’s side agreed to sign 27-year-old Ronald Araújo on loan with an option to buy. Doble Amarilla state the Uruguayan’s move to Liverpool has seen Barcelona look at the Tottenham Hotspur star. 💣 Bombazo: Barcelona se metió de lleno y va con todo por el “Cuti” Romero 📌Cuando estaba todo acordado entre Tottenham y Atlético Madrid por el central, la salida de Ronald Araújo del blaugrana le abrió las puertas al cordobéshttps://t.co/hAgT7sK58e — doble amarilla ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@okdobleamarilla) August 8, 2026 Cristian Romero has been waiting for better options and had put the Inter Milan move on hold. That’s when Atlético Madrid entered the race and he gave them preference over the San Siro club. He could repeat the same with Los Rojiblancos, to give priority to Barcelona over their La Liga counterpart. The Spanish champions have identified the Spurs defender as the main target to replace Liverpool bound Araújo. Atlético reach agreement with Tottenham Hansi Flick appreciates Cristian Romero, and Barcelona entering the chase is a concern for the Madrid club. DSports and Doble Amarilla state Atlético Madrid had offered $30m [€26m] plus $10m [€8.7m] in bonuses. That would take the overall fee close to €35m, which falls short of Spurs’ reported request of €40m. Either way, the two reports state Tottenham Hotspur have accepted Los Rojiblancos’ offer, and the Argentine has practically finalised personal terms. Everything was on track for him to join Diego Simeone’s side until Barcelona’s entered the race. Romero and Atlético would wait to find whether the Catalan club will table an offer to convince Roberto De Zerbi’s side. If not, Los Rojiblancos can wrap up this operation. Inter Milan seem further down the pecking order.