Roma’s reputation as a selling team has rarely been in question. From the days of Antonio Cassano and Walter Samuel to Marquinhos and Erik Lamela a decade ago to the recent back-breaking sales of Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker, Roma fans have grown accustomed to saying goodbye. We’re oversimplifying things, of course, but Roma doesn’t have the wherewithal to retain all their best talents, so when Europe’s wealthiest clubs come calling, the capital club struggles to say no.
Whether FFP influenced
those sales or not, they highlighted something my predecessor at CdT was fond of saying: All Roma signings are essentially 18 to 24-month loans. Ironically, with Roma dwelling in the Europa League over the past several seasons, the club hasn’t been pestered by the petroclubs of European football. But that might soon change…
According to the Corriere dello Sport, PSG has taken note of Manu Koné’s meteoric rise this season. With the 24-year-old midfielder now starring for both the Giallorossi and the French National Team, he is beginning to attract interest from Europe’s top clubs, including the Parisiens. According to the CdS, the Parisiens are willing to offer €60 million for Koné, ten million more than the rumored offer from Inter Milan over the summer.
While it may be hard to resist such a quick injection of cash, the Corriere concedes that, if Roma qualifies for the Champions League next season, they will be better prepared to reject PSG’s overtures. If, however, the club continues to tempt the FFP demons, all bets may be off.
We can expect a flood of these stories in the coming months, and Koné will probably be joined by Mile Svilar, Evan Ndicka, and Matías Soulé in the tabloids, but until Roma’s Champions League outcome is clear, treat them as mere rumors.
