The Gianluca Petrachi Era has been a solid one for the Giallorossi so far. Signings like Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling, and Amadou Diawara last summer let Roma Year Zero start off on the right foot, and given the impending takeover of Roma by The Friedkin Group, the January mercato was pretty successful as well. Yet the Roman media is always good for a new rumor on a daily basis, and Il Tempo has certainly given us a juicy one today.
It appears that current Roma CEO Guido Fienga, the man in charge of the Friedkin Group takeover, has suggested that The Friedkin Group consider bringing in Juventus DS Fabio Paratici to Rome. As reported in English by RomaPress, it’s not thought that Paratici would leave Turin immediately. Quite frankly, Juventus are pretty good at this football thing, and Paratici’s chances of building a Champions League winning squad are much higher at Juventus than they would be at Roma. However, there is a hope among the Roma hierarchy (and perhaps The Friedkin Group itself) that Paratici could be convinced to find a new challenge at the Stadio Olimpico.
What might push Paratici away from the Bianconeri? Well, one thing may be the lack of sustainability of the stars and transfers currently powering Juventus. Reportedly, the moves for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Aaron Ramsey, and Matthijs De Ligt, flashy though they are, may not be good long-run financial moves for the Old Lady, making it harder for her to maintain dominance over Italy for much longer. Combine those financial questions with the uninspired football that Maurizio Sarri has brought to Juve, and it makes a little more sense that Paratici may want to leave for greener pastures. According to RomaPress, “Roma is a gamble that, reportedly, entices Paratici and one he’d be interested in. It also can’t be ruled out that should he arrive, Gianluca Petrachi could also remain given that the pair have a longstanding relationship.”
That last bit is perhaps the most interesting part of this rumor for me. Petrachi has long been thought to be one of the best Directors of Sport on the Italian peninsula; even when he was at Torino, the work he did finding diamonds in the rough was unparalleled (excluding Walter Sabatini, of course). I’m not entirely sure how the hierarchy of Roma’s management would be changed if Paratici was brought in while maintaining the services of Petrachi, but combining the knowledge of the two Italians would give The Friedkin Group’s new purchase a brain trust that could push the Giallorossi to the next level.
Simply put, there are a lot of interesting rumors swirling around Roma’s acquisition by The Friedkin Group. I wrote recently about Roma’s potential free transfer signing of Dries Mertens, and although that isn’t a Ronaldo-type signing, it would be a statement of intent considering the Belgian’s prolific Serie A career to date. Now adding in these rumors that The Friedkin Group may look to supercharge Roma’s management team, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that Roma’s new ownership are viewing this as a chance to push the Giallorossi one step closer to the megaclubs of Europe.