Official: Roma Signs Pedro on Free Transfer

While we wait for the collective futures of Chris Smalling and Patrik Schick to sort themselves out, Roma made official today what we've known since at least December: that the club will sign former Chelsea midfielder/forward/winger Pedro on a free transfer. Roma were close to acquiring the 33-year-old Spaniard during the winter transfer window but the deal never came to fruition, leaving Pedro to play out the remainder of his fifth and final season with Chelsea, culminating in their FA Cup Final defeat to Arsenal, a match in which Pedro separated his shoulder.

With his medical completed and the shoulder looking sound, the club officially unveiled Pedro as their first signing of the Dan Friedkin era.

Pedro, 33-years-old, comes to Roma after a successful five year stint with Chelsea in which he scored 29 goals and chipped in 16 assists in five Premiership seasons, the best of which saw him bag nine goals and dish out nine assists during the 2016-2017 campaign.

On his new club, Pedro expressed his gratitude and excitement:

I am delighted to be here at Roma,” Pedro said. “I’m excited for this challenge and to compete to achieve our targets over the coming seasons.

I want to thank the fans for the welcome they’ve given me. I hope to make them happy...

I am really happy to arrive at this club. I need to say thank you to everybody for this welcome: to the supporters, to the club, to the staff. I am very happy to be here.

It is a new challenge for me, to play in Serie A, to play in a new country, and I am very happy to be here.

I also spoke with Paulo [Fonseca], he’s a good coach. He spoke with me, {he explained that] it’s a good moment for me to come here and play with new teammates and chase something special. I repeat that it is difficult, but it is not impossible. There are so many good players here and that’s another reason I came here.

You can read the full interview here, but as far as the particulars of the deal are concerned Roma have signed Pedro to a three-year deal through June of 2023, and while no financial details of the deal were disclosed, it is widely believed that Pedro will earn €3 million per season. However, with Italy's favorable tax laws for foreign signings, that figure isn't quite as excessive as it may seem for a player his age.

While Roma will hope Pedro can discover a fountain of youth in Rome, he is coming off a pretty wasted season in which he only made 11 Premiership appearances for Chelsea but is only one year removed from a 13 goal and five assist season (all comps) for the Blues. With an ability to play virtually anywhere in attack, Pedro isn't bound to one position or formation in particular.

This deal was likely in place prior to the takeover, so I wouldn't go searching for signals of intent from Friedkin. With the tax incentives and his tactical versatility, this is a pretty low-risk signing, though one has to wonder what a 36-year-old Pedro will be able to contribute in the final year of his deal.

Nevertheless, this signing should give Paulo Fonseca even more attacking permutations with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Justin Kluivert, Cengiz Ünder and even Bryan Cristante.

Welcome aboard, Pedro!