From Walter Sabatini to Monchi, all the way to Tiago Pinto, Roma always had an excellent smooth operator in charge of the their transfer market. The Capital club excels in the craft of buying players on relatively low prices before selling them for some sweet profits.
Nonetheless, this policy had its negative consequences on the club, with the successive coaches being unable to build upon a consistent squad due to the continuous changes within the roster.
Moreover, the management would jump the gun too soon at times, selling some of their stars for the highest bidder at times when patience would have been more handful, as was the case with the following five players.
5- Antonio Rudiger
The German’s case is the perfect example of how Roma operates on the market. The defender landed in the Eternal City back in the summer of 2015 on an initial loan deal from Stuttgart.
By the end of the season, the management bought the player’s outright for a total of 13 million euros, but only lasted one other campaign at the Sadio Olimpico, as he was sold to Chelsea for 35 millions in 2017.
Whilst undoubtedly a profitable deal, the Romans deprived themselves of a defender who would then cement himself as one of the most reliable center backs of his generation, as proven by his solid displays for The Blues en route towards Champions League glory last season.
4- Matteo Politano
Contrary to the recurring theme on this list, the Italian was actually a youth product for Roma, but was never given the chance to shine for his original club.
After a series of loan spells, the winger was sold to Sassuolo in 2016 for just 8 millions, and he went on to make a name for himself at the Mapei Stadium, before earning a major career move to Inter.
In 2020, the Giallorossi almost rectified their mistake by reclaiming Politano (although they would have lost Leonardo Spinazzola in the swap), but the deal suddenly collapsed, and the player moved to Napoli instead.
3- Marquinhos
The Brazilian arrived at Roma as a teenager, costing the club circa 7 millions. A year later, he was sold to PSG for 31 millions.
Whilst any accountant would be vastly impressed with this shrewd piece of business, it’s worth noting that eight years after the mentioned transfer, the center back is still only 27-years-old, and his market value is estimated to be around 75 millions.
So we’ll let you decide whether selling Marquinhos was a good decision for the club or an ill-advised one.
2- Mohamed Salah
Unfortunately for Roma, men like Francesco Totti are an almost-extinct breed, and any player hoping to prove himself as on the best in the world often ends up leaving the Italian capital in search for greener pastures.
Whilst the Egyptian’s departure towards Liverpool was somewhat expected as well as understandable, the transfer fee involved remains baffling until this very day.
Following his exploits at the Olimpico, one would think that the former Fiorentina man would cost much more than 42 millions. After four years at Anfield, Salah’s estimated value is circa 100 millions, despite being only one year shy of his 30th birthday.
1- Patrik Schick
Compared to losing Mo Salah, the departure of Czech striker doesn’t seem too devastating for Roma fans. However, this was one of the few occasions that the management failed to record a profit on one of their young stars.
In order to beat the competition from Juventus, La Magica splashed the cash on the former Sampdoria youngster, paying up to 42 millions for his services (basically the Salah money).
However, the forward couldn’t find himself a regular spot in the first XI – mostly due to the presence of Edin Dzeko – and the club decided to cut their losses sending him on loan towards RB Leipzig, before selling him to Bayer Leverkusen for just 26 millions.
Schick is only 25-years-old, and those who paid attention to his skills and brilliant goals in Euro 2020 would know that he possesses a special talent, and Roma perhaps should have given him more chances before giving up on their big-money signing.