De Rossi's sudden firing at Roma raises questions over possible power struggle

ROME (AP) — Backroom clashes with Roma CEO and general manager Lina Souloukou. Frustration over the way the club attempted to offload prized forward Paulo Dybala to Saudi Arabia. The failed acquisition of Federico Chiesa.

Reports over why Daniele De Rossi suddenly fell out of favor at Roma are running rampant in the Italian capital — and it’s not just about the squad going winless in its opening four matches this season.

Owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin could quell the speculation and explain why they fired the beloved former club captain De Rossi and hired Ivan Jurić to coach the club.

But the Friedkins have never spoken publicly in the four years since they purchased Roma from fellow American James Pallotta.

“The club’s decision is made in the best interests of the team, to get back on the desired path as soon as possible at a time when the season is still in its early stages,” Roma said in a brief statement on Wednesday. “A heartfelt thank you to Daniele, who will always be at home at the Giallorossi club, for the work he has done in recent months with passion and dedication.”

The single sentence devoted to De Rossi was a far cry from the 2 ½-minute video capturing his career as both a player and a coach that Roma produced in June when the club extended his contract for three more years.

The contract extension was made official two months after it was first announced, and only five months after De Rossi was hired to replace José Mourinho.

“We couldn’t be happier to build a long-term project with Daniele,” the Friedkins said in an April statement.

So, what happened between June and mid-September?

Well, Roma’s transfer campaign began late when Florent Ghisolfi was hired as sporting director at the end of May after producing success at Lens and Nice.

Romelu Lukaku’s loan spell ended. Fullback Leonardo Spinazzola didn’t have his contract renewed and signed with Napoli on a free transfer.

De Rossi acknowledged that he didn’t know the first signing, Enzo Le Fée, a French midfielder who plays in the same position where De Rossi once excelled.

Fullback Nicola Zalewski and midfielder Edoardo Bove, both homegrown 22-year-olds, were removed from the squad. Zalewski is out of favor after refusing transfers while Bove was loaned to Fiorentina.

Asked about Zalewski, De Rossi said it was “a choice the club made.”

Chiesa, who was at the top of De Rossi’s wish list, left Juventus for Liverpool, and forwards Matías Soulé and Artem Dovbyk were signed instead. Former Germany center back Mats Hummels, who was out of contract, was a late addition and still hasn’t made his debut for Roma.

“If you’ve practically revolutionized the squad you’ve got to give him time — not fire him after four rounds,” Fabio Capello, who coached Roma to its last Serie A title in 2001, said in the Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday.

Dybala had entertained a lucrative move to Al-Qadsiah that would have been welcomed by Roma’s cost-cutting management. But then the often-injured forward unexpectedly decided to turn down the Saudi Arabian offer that would have earned him nearly $85 million over three years and stay at Roma, where he had reportedly already cleaned out his locker.

Dybala’s contract with Roma expires at the end of this season and he reportedly has a clause in his contract that requires 15 appearances this season for an automatic renewal for one more year.

Since deciding to stay, he has played in all three of Roma’s matches — which could have meant that De Rossi was going against management’s wishes.

“Coach, it hasn’t been many months, but they were sufficient to convey many things on a sporting and a humane level,” Dybala wrote on Instagram after De Rossi’s firing was announced. “Soccer is often unfair.”

But soccer is also big business and the Friedkins have poured nearly $1 billion in investments into Roma without seeing the team compete once in the lucrative Champions League. Mourinho directed the team to the Conference League title in 2022 and the Europa League final a year later; and De Rossi helped the club to the Europa League semifinals last season.

But having been unable to build its own stadium after first presenting plans a decade ago, Roma is still struggling financially and was recently fined 2 million euros ($2.22 million) by UEFA for “slightly” exceeding an intermediate savings target.

Jurić was given a contract through the end of the season that includes an automatic renewal in the case of Champions League qualification.

The work starts Sunday when surprise Serie A leader Udinese visits the Stadio Olimpico, where fans could protest over the firing of De Rossi.

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