Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has left fans stunned after sending a lengthy farewell message to previous manager Ange Postecoglou - at almost the same time as Thomas Frank was announced as his replacement.
Frank has signed a three-year contract until 2028 to become the Spurs manager, and departs fellow Premier League side Brentford after over seven years at the helm.
The Dane is regarded as one of the most tactically astute managers in England, and will look to build on Spurs' Europa League success last term.
Postecoglou's sacking earlier this month was met with criticism by many Spurs fans given that success, with many believing that he deserved another season in charge despite his side finishing 17th in the Premier League.
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Spurs players rushed to social media to pay tribute to the Australian, with midfielder Yves Bissouma even sharing details of a text message that Postecoglou sent to him following his departure.
Noticeably, Argentina defender Romero was one of the few players not to pen a farewell message to his former manager.
He has now done so - but the timing of his social media post, as well as what he said, has certainly caught fans off guard.
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Taking to Twitter, Romero wrote: "Ange, thank you for these two incredible seasons.
"You're a fantastic coach, but above all, a great person who deserves the best.
"From day one you paved the way despite the many obstacles that always existed and always will exist.
"Beyond everything, we won a trophy and went down in the history of this beautiful club, which is the only thing that matters.
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"I wish you the best because you deserve the best, and thank you for everything."
Spurs announced Frank's appointment as manager at 8:16pm, with Romero's message being posted under a hour later.
Fans also think part of Romero's post was a direct dig at Spurs' ownership and chairman Daniel Levy.
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One wrote: "Sat there with this in drafts waiting until Tottenham announced Thomas Frank ... a post which has a dig at the club again."
A second said: "Daniel Levy, you're the obstacles he's talking about."
And a third stated: "Mr Levy won't be liking this but fair play for saying it."
According to TBR Football, Tottenham want to enter talks with Romero over a lucrative new contract.
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But the report adds that the Argentinian 'has his heart set' on leaving the club with Atletico Madrid believed to be interested - and his latest post does not appear to have increased his chances of staying at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Ange Postecoglou, Football
Ryan Smart