‘I told Tottenham to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, but now they have the best defender in the world’

‘I told Tottenham to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, but now they have the best defender in the world’

Former Spurs Forward Rosenthal: Pace, Ronaldo, and Van de Ven – What Tottenham Must Do This Summer

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Ronny Rosenthal has delivered a blunt message to his old club: fix the lack of pace in attack, sign elite talent, and hold onto world-class defenders like Micky van de Ven – or forget competing at the top end of the Premier League next season.

While Spurs are not yet mathematically safe in the Premier League, their situation has improved dramatically compared to a week ago. Back-to-back wins over Wolves and Aston Villa have put their fate back in their own hands. However, Rosenthal believes the squad’s weaknesses have been laid bare over the past two campaigns.

Reports suggest that manager Roberto De Zerbi and the Tottenham hierarchy are already planning for the summer transfer window. And according to Rosenthal, their priorities must be crystal clear.

“I Told Tottenham to Sign Ronaldo” – But They Didn’t Listen

Rosenthal argues that Spurs’ main problem this season has been a lack of explosive pace in the final third – and he insists the club has ignored his advice on this front before.

The former Israeli international revealed that he had alerted Tottenham to Cristiano Ronaldo’s potential during the Portuguese star’s early days at Sporting Lisbon. The club never followed up.

Speaking to Flash Score, Rosenthal said:

“Tottenham don’t have wingers or players with electrifying pace, and that’s precisely what they do need. Even Manor Solomon would be better than what they have now. Xavi Simons is doing some amazing things – yes, he scored a crazy goal two weeks ago – but look at his numbers. He can’t do it throughout the whole season.”

He added:

“These are the reasons Tottenham are struggling. In the Premier League, you face the biggest collection of explosive players. I understood even after retirement that speed would define the modern game. That’s why I tracked players like Samuel Eto’o, Cristiano Ronaldo, Vincent Kompany, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – I was always looking for the fastest sprinters in football. I saw Cristiano in his second or third game for Sporting’s first team and immediately alerted Tottenham. But they didn’t follow it up.”

Keep Van de Ven – Or the Big Clubs Will Come

While Rosenthal believes Spurs need at least four new signings to challenge for European places next season, he stressed that protecting their current stars is just as important – particularly Micky van de Ven, who has been linked with a move away from N17.

When asked whether De Zerbi could get the best out of this squad (assuming he keeps them in the Premier League), the 62-year-old responded:

“It’s still early days. I want to see what he does during games. Two of the previous managers – Postecoglou and Thomas Frank – played good football, but that alone doesn’t win matches in the end.

There’s a huge expectation that Tottenham must always finish in the top six. So De Zerbi will need to bring in four new players – but real top, top stars. He already has the main pieces there: Van de Ven, Spence is important, Maddison is important, and Kudus. But there are too many mediocre players. I don’t know the club’s financial situation, so you hope the big names can lift the rest.

As for Igor Tudor, there was one game where I didn’t understand why he took off Van de Ven. I thought maybe he was injured. But afterward, I realised Tudor simply wanted to replace him for no reason.

For me, this is the best defender in the world. He’s the fastest centre-back on the planet. At the end of the season, I’m sure that whether Tottenham stay up or go down, two or three of the biggest clubs will try to sign him.”

Final Verdict: Pace, Star Power, and Non-Negotiable Speed

Rosenthal’s message is straightforward: Tottenham lack the explosive wide players needed to thrive in the modern Premier League. Without pace, they will continue to struggle. And without convincing their elite stars to stay – Van de Ven above all – any summer rebuild may be fighting a losing battle before it even begins.