I've seen a lot of fans admit Sasuke loves Sakura, but they believe that he loves her as a platonic friend or as little sister (ironically despite the fact that Sakura is slightly older than Sasuke), not romantically. I can't argue or refute this since I have no idea how each individual fan tells the difference between romance and platonic relationships, even though to me it seems clear that Sasuke and Sakura love each other romantically, not platonically. Since romance is another expression of friendship, it's a vaguely defined line when a friendship crosses into the adequate capacity for a lifelong romantic partnership on equal standing. To be honest even I'm not always sure precisely what qualifications I'm using when I decide that characters should be platonic friends versus when they should be romantic friends. Romances and platonic relationships emerge and express themselves in similar ways: hugging, holding hands, physical touch, and even kissing, are all platonic and romantic expressions of affection. And as I said before, a platonic relationship can have just as much emotional and relationship depth as a romantic one. How I tell the difference between the bonds is challenging for me to break down on an analytical level. To me it's something I observe intuitively, a sixth sense that tells me how to categorize and distinguish different bonds, whether they be friends, siblings, lovers, parent/child, student/sensei, etc.

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Some things that I think are needed in a romance: shared values, shared goals (or at least the ability to support each other's goals), being able to live in close proximity with your partner forever, wanting to go through life together as a team with shared resources and family with you partner, and physical/sexual attraction (though sexual attraction is the least important element of a romance in my opinion, since the spiritual friendship and connection with your partner is way more important and gives a real foundation for a long-term relationship, which is something that physical attraction alone can never add to a relationship long-term). Entering into a romantic relationship means that you want to be a family with that person and that you are their close friend. At least it should (I realize that not all real-life marriages are founded on love or healthy friendships, unfortunately).

 

Since I don't know how other people identify romantic relationships, I don't know why some consider Sasuke's relationship to Sakura platonic even though they acknowledge that Sasuke does care deeply about Sakura. So I'll just say this:

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The way Sasuke's gaze melts and softens with gentleness and love when he looks at Sakura appears romantic to me, not platonic:

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The way Sasuke blushed when Sakura stated she liked him seems romantic, not platonic:

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The back hug (which I've typically seen used for romantic pairs in anime) seems romantic, not platonic:

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And scenes like this have heavy romantic connotations:

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The fact that they are married, are intimate with each other, have a daughter, hold hands in private, have the most canonically confirmed kisses of any Naruto couple (tied with NaruHina with two kisses), that Sasuke has memorized the shape of Sakura's hand, that Sasuke has said that he and Sakura are "close" and that "their feelings are connected", and that they refer to each other as husband and wife don't seem like platonic relationship stuff to me. View it how you want, but I think that's romantic stuff, not sibling stuff.

 

Frankly the whole "Sakura is like Sasuke's sister" argument to debunk SasuSaku is creepy in light of the many canonical sexual connotations surrounding SasuSaku. Their relationship can only take two forms: lovers or close platonic friends. Sakura's romantic feelings for him and Sasuke's own assumption that his relationship with Sakura would naturally be a romantic one shows that their relationship was boxed into being a romantic one. At least Sasuke and Sakura think so, even if fans don't. Sasuke recognizes Sakura's romantic intentions and even states that if he accepted her friendship, their bond would be a romantic one, which indicates that Sasuke sees the relationship set in that frame.

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Additionally, fans forget that there is clear romantic tension between Sasuke and Sakura, and that's not something Sasuke could ignore. If you were friends with a guy/girl who had a crush on you and you were 100% aware of their crush, would you ever come to think of that person as a brother/sister figure in your life? Probably not. Romantic tension on one end of a friendship means that the relationship would never really be able to shift to a sibling dynamic, particularly since the two canonically end up in a sexual relationship at the end of the story. Sasuke's not going to have brotherly affection for someone who clearly has a romantic interest in him. He could have platonic affection for a person who is in love with him, just not as a sibling. They would be friends, but not siblings.

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Sasuke definitely didn't think of Sakura as a little sister. Sasuke expected Sakura to be strong and able to stand on her own two feet without him needing to coddle her emotionally. Sasuke treated Sakura more like an equal. Sasuke expected Sakura to be independent and strong-minded. When she wasn't, he didn't baby her, because he expected her to be stronger than that. Sasuke didn't fret about hiding the truth of his feelings or purpose from her or worry whether she'd be able to handle with the emotional intensity of their conversations; I'd expect an older brother to act more protective and guarded around someone he viewed as a little sis, hiding things from her instead of confiding in her. But Sasuke laid out his feelings for Sakura and expected her to be strong enough to deal with them, or otherwise forget about him and decide he wasn't worth the trouble. Emotionally speaking, Sasuke wasn't the protective brotherly type, he was the type who challenged Sakura to be stronger and more independent like a mutual partner would.