Sergio Germán "Chiquito" Romero (; born 22 February 1987)Chiquito Romero: después de la atajada y la polémica ante River, fue a Gran HermanoChiquito Romero rompió el silencio sobre el gol anulado: "La pelota..." is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Romero made his debut with Racing Club in the Argentine Primera División in 2007 and then transferred to Dutch club AZ at the end of the season. He won the Eredivisie in 2009, and two years later joined Italian side Sampdoria. In 2013, Romero joined Monaco on a season-long loan. He signed for Manchester United in July 2015, largely serving as backup to David de Gea but playing in a series of important matches for the club. Romero was the starting goalkeeper through Manchester United's 2016–17 UEFA Europa League run, playing in the Final and keeping a clean sheet as the club defeated Ajax to win a fifth major European trophy in their history. He made 61 appearances for United across six seasons in total, later returning to Argentina with Boca Juniors in 2022, where he won the Argentine Primera División.

Romero is the most capped goalkeeper in the history of the Argentina national team, playing 96 times since his debut in 2009. He has represented Argentina at two World Cups and at three Copa América tournaments, finishing as runner-up in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as in the 2015 and 2016 Copa América tournaments. He also was part of the team that won gold at the 2008 Olympics.

Club career

Racing Club Born in Bernardo de Irigoyen, Romero began his youth career at Almirante Brown and CAI before joining Racing Club.

Romero passed from the youth to the first team of Racing Club in 2006, making his debut in the Argentine Primera División. Romero appeared in the substitute bench throughout the 2005 season. Throughout the 2006 season, he continued to be in the substitute bench. Despite this, he signed his first professional contract with the club.

In the 2007 season, Romero found himself competing the first-choice goalkeeper role with José Luis Martínez Gullotta. Romero made his Racing Club debut of Matchday 1 of Torneo Apertura, in a 1–1 draw against Nueva Chicago. However, in the following match, Romero lost his first-choice goalkeeper role to Gustavo Campagnuolo and spent two months on the sidelines. Weeks after signing for AZ when he moved in the summer, Romero made his first appearance in two months on 14 April 2007 against Colón, in a 1–1 draw; followed up by another appearance on 22 April 2007, in a 3–3 draw against Belgrano. After Campagnuolo suffered an injury, Romero made his last appearance for the club on 17 June 2007, in a 4–2 win over Godoy Cruz.

AZ

2007–08 season

It was announced on 24 March 2007 that Romero signed for AZ, who were managed by Louis van Gaal when he joined the club on 1 July. There, Romero was expected to fight for the first-choice goalkeeper role with Boy Waterman.

After an injury to Waterman, Romero made his Eredivisie debut on 30 September 2007 against Heracles, during which he conceded a penalty, and AZ lost 2–1. In his second match of the season against Twente on 23 February 2008, he kept his first clean sheet for the side, in a 0–0 draw. From that moment on, Romero became a regular in the team, with AZ finishing 11th.

2008–09 season In 2008–09, Romero established himself as first-choice goalkeeper at AZ following the departure of Waterman to Den Haag. Romero kept a 950-minute clean sheet for AZ from November 2008 to February 2009. While keeping a clean sheet Romero signed a new contract with the club, keeping him there until 2012. On 5 March 2009, in the quarter-finals of the KNVB Cup, he made a mistake which allowed Breda's Nourdin Boukhari to score, as AZ were beaten 2–1. After the defeat, he broke the bones in his hand by punching the door and walls of his team's changing room in frustration, an injury which ruled him out of the team at a crucial stage of the season. While on the side-lines, AZ won the Eredivisie in the 2008–09 season. He returned on 26 April 2009 after Joey Didulica was injured in a clash with Luis Suárez, playing 16 minutes of a 1–1 draw against Ajax. Romero ended the 2008–09 season having made 31 appearances in all competitions.

2009–10 season The 2009–10 season marked the departure of Van Gaal to Bayern Munich. Romero was linked with a move away from AZ, with Juventus and Bayern Munich keen on signing him, but stayed at the club throughout the summer. Romero started the season well in the Johan Cruyff Shield, when he helped AZ win 5–1 against Heerenveen to win the title. Continuing to be first-choice goalkeeper, Romero made his UEFA Champions League debut on Matchday 1 of the Group Stage in a 0–1 loss against Olympiacos. However, a week later, he suffered a knee injury that side-lined him for a week. A week later on 3 October 2009 he returned to the first team from injury in a 1–0 win over Breda. Later in the season Romero suffered a further injury which caused him to be substituted in the first half of a 1–0 win over Sparta Rotterdam on 21 March 2010. It was announced that this injury would rule Romero out for the remainder of the season, putting his place in the 2010 World Cup in doubt. Despite his injuries, by the end of the 2009–10 season Romero had made 36 appearances in all competitions.

2010–11 season Romero missed the start of the season the 2010–11 season, due to international commitment and injury, eventually making his first appearance of the season on 19 September 2010 in a 1–0 win over NEC. Eleven days later, on 30 September 2010, Romero made his UEFA Europa League debut in a 1–4 loss against BATE Borisov in the Group Stage. By February, Romero was out of the first team for the second time that season, due to international commitment and ankle injury. After spending a month on the side-lines, Romero returned to the first team on 2 April 2011 in a 1–0 win over Feyenoord. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Romero had made 31 appearances in all competitions, helping AZ to 4th place in the league and qualification into the Europa League.

At the start of the 2011–12 season Romero was criticised by manager Gertjan Verbeek for his unprofessional attitude, having failed to return to the club following the conclusion of 2011 Copa América. As a result, Romero was dropped from the AZ squad until the transfer window finished. He later joined Sampdoria on 22 August 2011.

Sampdoria

2011–12 season

On 22 August 2011, Romero was signed for €2.1 million on a 4-year contractU.C. Sampdoria S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2011 , PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A. by Sampdoria, which had been relegated the previous season to Serie B. Upon joining the club, Romero said his aim is to help the club reach promotion to Serie A.

Romero made his debut four days later at home against Padova in the opening match of the season, in a 2–2 draw. Despite being a first team regular, Romero missed several matches by the first half of the season due to international commitment as well as injury and suspension. Romero managed to regain his first choice goalkeeper role until he suffered injuries around April. The season ended with Sampdoria in sixth place, and after victories over Sassuolo and Varese in the playoffs, which he played once, due to his own international commitment, and they earned promotion to Serie A. In his first season at Sampdoria, Romero finished his first season, making 30 appearances in all competitions.

2012–13 season In his second season at Sampdoria, Romero continued to remain a first choice goalkeeper this season following the injury of second choice goalkeeper, Angelo da Costa Júnior. Romero then made his Serie A debut, in the opening match of the season, where he kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win over Milan. However, in a match against Parma on 21 October 2012, Romero was sent-off in the 34th minute for conceding a penalty, in a 1–2 loss. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Romero went on to make 33 appearances in all competitions despite appearing on the substitute for the last three remaining league matches amid to rumors of leaving the club. However, this was denied by Romero, who stated that he is committed to stay at the club.

2013–14 season: Loan to Monaco

For the 2013–14 season, Romero was loaned to Monaco of Ligue 1. Romero later reflected his move to Monaco, stating that he doesn't regret his choices. Romero made his Monaco debut, in the third round of Coupe da La League, in a 0–1 loss against Reims on 30 October 2013. It wasn't until on 12 April 2014 when he made his league debut, in a 1–0 win over Rennes. Second choice behind Danijel Subašić, he played three league matches as the team finished as runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain, but was first choice in the cup competitions, playing six times.

2014–15 season After his return to Sampdoria, he was most often the backup to Emiliano Viviano. But following Viviano's injury, Romero had an opportunity when he made his first appearance on 19 October 2014, in a 2–2 draw against Cagliari. Romero had a handful of first team opportunities playing throughout 2014 until Viviano return in early 2015. In the January transfer window, Romero's lack of first team opportunities prompted him to decide to leave the club in January, but this never happened. From that moment on, Romero returned as a second choice goalkeeper and never played again. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Romero went on to make eleven appearances in all competitions.

Following this, Romero was released by the club at the end of the 2014–15 season when his contract came to an end, which he confirmed his release on 6 June 2015. It came after when the club allowed Romero to leave the club at the end of the season.

Manchester United

2015–16 season

On 27 July 2015, Manchester United completed the signing of Romero on a free transfer. He penned a three-year contract, with the option to extend for a further year, and reunited with his former AZ manager Louis van Gaal. Upon joining the club, Romero was given the number 20 shirt, saying: "There was a misunderstanding between myself and the manager, Van Gaal. He asked me what squad number I wanted, and I said 22. But he must have thought I'd said 21 because he told me if I wanted that number, I would have to go and speak with Ander Herrera. Anyway, it turned out Nick Powell had recently changed to 22, so I just said that no.20 would do fine".

With David de Gea withdrawn from the squad amidst transfer speculation, and Víctor Valdés out of favour with manager Van Gaal, Romero made his Premier League debut on 8 August 2015, as the season opened with a 1–0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. His distribution was described as "nervy" but produced two crucial saves that helped United win the match. He did not concede in his first three league matches for United. After de Gea failed to leave the club in the summer, he returned to the first team, which resulted in Romero becoming the second choice goalkeeper. Despite this, Romero was first choice in cup competitions.

2016–17 season