Updated:
Jun 5, 2023 10:32 pm
After losing the UEFA Europa League final to Sevilla on penalties, much of the discussion was about the future of José Mourinho and whether he would return for one more year as the manager of AS Roma. A lot has been made about the Special One’s future with the capital club, as he himself has been quite contradicting with his statements over the last couple of months. But before delving into whether Mourinho comes back for one more year, it is the conditions under which the club operates that need to be analysed.
Roma are going to be without UEFA Champions League football for one more season. Their last appearance in the illustrious competition was during the 2018-19 season, wherein they lost to FC Porto in the quarterfinals. This means there is even less money coming into the club as the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules leaves the club with very little room to breathe in terms of their ability in the transfer market. Mourinho is partly culpable for this as they prioritised Europa League and aimed to get into the Champions League via that. He could make a case that if he had squad depth, then they could have challenged in two fronts and not have been forced to prioritise one competition over the other. He would be right.
While the Friedkins, the owners of the club, have invested over half a billion, their hands are still very much tied due to the FFP conditions, a result of mismanagement by the former regime. Mourinho in his post-match press conference hinted at needing reinforcements in the summer.
He said, “My players deserve more, and I deserve more too and I want to fight for more. I still want to stay under conditions that can allow me to give more.” Make no mistake about it, this is a direct message to the owners and Tiago Pinto, the general manager.
via Goal.com
Coming into the 2022-23 season, Roma reinforced but with free agent signings and players on loans. They spent a grand total of €9 million during the summer transfer window. The players that were sold brought in over €65 million. This is what José Mourinho was working with this season. To say that finishing in a Europa League spot and reaching the final of the same competition is an overachievement would be an understatement.
While securing Champions League qualification was crucial to the club’s ability to spend in the summer market, another aspect that is going to hit the club and their finances like an oncoming train is the stadium redevelopment plans. According to reports, this is set to cost over €550 million, with the Friedkins themselves churning out €150 million. The new facility will contain a sports complex, including a basketball and tennis center.
All this points to the direction that AS Roma will not have money to spend in the transfer market. Unless they can offload a player for a mammoth price tag, much like how Liverpool funded the acquisitions of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson with the sale of Philippe Coutinho. And when you look at the squad, there is hardly anyone who would bring in a lot of money. Perhaps Tammy Abraham could be the one, but with his ACL injury that will rule him out for almost nine months, it is unlikely that clubs are going to be queuing up to sign him.
So, the question begs, will José Mourinho return for one more year with AS Roma? The answer is simply down to the Special One. He will undoubtedly have many suitors should he wish to walk away from the capital club. But the upside with Roma is simply better than all the offers he will have. The chance to make the club a domestic and European force again, something that hasn’t been done since the days of Fabio Capello and a young Francesco Totti, is simply too good to pass up.
He and his players will once again launch an assault at winning the Europa League next season, without question. Should he be able to do it, he would have delivered two European trophies in the first three years of his stint at Roma and reached three consecutive European finals. This would essentially seal his God-like status with the Roma fans much like the Inter Milan fans.
That’s hard to pass up and on paper looks very pleasing. However, it will come down to the business that AS Roma can do in the summer transfer window. Napoli are the team to beat in Italy, Inter are in a Champions League final and have won the Coppa Italia, Milan have a good young core that will only get better with time, while Juventus are seeking to improve and progress to the next stage of their “project” with Massimiliano Allegri. If they can back Mourinho to the hilt, then the glory days could very well be back at the capital club next season.
