Given Roma’s highly-publicized goal of qualifying for the Champions League next season, any missteps along the way, especially those as embarrassing and potentially damaging as the club’s 5-2 loss to Inter Milan on Sunday, were bound to have consequences. Instead of a quick, decisive blow, Roma’s likely failure to qualify for Europe’s top club competition has been a death by a thousand cuts, with the deepest one resulting in their Easter embarrassment.
In a similar vein, the fallout from this collapse
will emerge gradually rather than suddenly. While there have been rumors of discord between Gian Piero Gasperini, Sporting Director Ricky Massara, and the Friedkin family, it’s difficult to imagine the club cutting ties with Gasperini after only one season. To prevent those relationships from unraveling this summer, the Roma brass must develop a cohesive plan to ensure a smooth and successful transition into Gasperini’s second year on the bench.
And that starts and ends with squad construction—the supposed source of the miniature rift between Gasperini and the Roma leadership. From unsuccessful transfers last year to reported disagreements over the scope of the upcoming revolution this summer, Gasperini, Massara, and the Friedkins seemed to have different expectations and ideas as they face a critical point in their latest project.
Some sources in Italy claim the club wants to turn over nearly a dozen players this summer, while others report that Gasperini prefers a more selective approach. The debate is certain to begin with Roma’s veteran players: Lorenzo Pellegrini, Stephan El Shaarawy, Bryan Cristante, and Gianluca Mancini. Pellegrini seems likely to stay with the club at a reduced salary, while El Shaarawy might return to Genoa this summer. Cristante and Mancini, however, have been negotiating new long-term contracts with the club, and those negotiations may now be in jeopardy.
According to multiple sources in Italy, the club has paused those months-long negotiations while it considers its direction this summer. Or, put more simply, should Cristante and Mancini (and the impending free agents like Pellegrini, SES, and Paulo Dybala) be part of the plan moving forward?
Add in the club’s usual FFP concerns and other disgruntled players who have yet to speak up, and Roma is looking at another consequential silly season.
