Neville doubles down on Romero criticism and says Messi ‘saves’ Argentina defenders

Gary Neville has reignited his war of words with Cristian Romero by insisting he stands “100%” by his fierce criticism of Argentina’s central defenders – and claiming Lionel Messi is repeatedly rescuing them from costly mistakes.

The former Manchester United and England defender came under fire from Romero after Argentina beat England to reach the 2026 World Cup final, but has refused to row back on his analysis.

Romero, angered by Neville’s comments about Argentina’s back line, aimed a barbed message at the Sky Sports pundit in the aftermath of the semi-final, saying: “I hope that when I retire, I’m not that stupid.”

Hours later, Neville issued a robust response, making clear he would not apologise, nor soften his stance on the Argentina defence.

“I think I know what I’m talking about when I watch a player,” Neville said, as he repeated his view that Argentina’s centre-back pairing combine “brilliance” with a worrying level of unpredictability.

Messi ‘saves them’ in knockout stages

Neville highlighted that Argentina have conceded six goals in the knockout rounds of the tournament, before delivering the line that has set social media alight.

“What if they didn’t have Lionel Messi up front?” he asked. “Those two should be hugging him every minute of every day. Because the truth is he’s the one saving them after conceding two goals against Egypt, two goals against Cape Verde, one against Switzerland and one against England.”

The English analyst argued that Messi’s attacking genius has masked the defensive lapses he believes both centre-backs continue to make.

In Neville’s view, the world champions’ march to another World Cup final has owed as much to Messi’s ability to tilt games in Argentina’s favour as it has to any solidity at the back.

Praise for talent – but ‘a lot of mistakes’

Neville was keen to stress that his criticism did not extend to the raw ability of Argentina’s defenders, describing them in glowing terms before again circling back to their errors.

“I also said they’re amazing. They’re a force of nature. They’ll win every duel, and they have an exceptional personality,” he said.

“But they make mistakes, a lot of mistakes. They go from the very top to falling off in a strange way.”

The 49-year-old insisted that the level Romero has reached during this World Cup does not erase concerns built up over a longer period, particularly at club level.

He pointed to last season’s struggles in the Premier League as evidence that, for all his quality, Romero still has significant room to grow as a defender.

Premier League form used as evidence

Neville referenced Romero’s domestic campaign to back up his assessment of the Argentinian.

“He played in a team that was close to relegation and conceded 65 goals,” Neville said. “I think I know what I’m talking about when I watch a player.”

While he did not name the club, the remark was clearly a reference to Romero’s form across a difficult league season, which Neville believes should not be airbrushed out because of a strong World Cup run.

Neville argued that the centre-back is still at an early stage of his development at the very highest level, and that the presence of Messi inevitably shifts the spotlight away from defensive flaws.

“I think Romero is still relatively young,” he added. “He has not yet become an experienced defender. And without Messi, we would be talking about them much more. What we saw last night was absolute genius.”

With Argentina preparing for another World Cup final, Neville’s comments ensure that debate around their defence – and around Romero in particular – will continue to rage alongside the acclaim for Messi’s latest tilt at glory.