Italian entrepreneur Raffaello Follieri attempted to orchestrate a negotiation to take over Roma backed by Saudi investors, but the Friedkin family plans to hold on to the team for the time being, Corriere dello Sport informs. He spilled the beans of what occurred to Il Sole 24 Ore (via Calcio e Finanza).
“Buying Roma would be an honor and a great investment. If the current owners decide to sell the club, I’d be ready to bargain. This is how things unfolded: I’ve had two meetings with Ryan Friendkin in London. The first one in December 2022 and the second one in March. I expressed my interest, but they were clear: they will part ways with the side only if they don’t manage to build the stadium. Therefore, the talks didn’t proceed.”
Follieri claimed that he’d be ready to purchase the outfit on his own.
“I have the resources to make Roma Italian again and don’t need partners. I’m not here to buy football pitches but to sell rare earth elements that are key to the latest industrial revolution. My company, whose HQ is in Geneva, controls eight percent of the global market.”
Friedkin bought Roma in the summer of 2020 and poured over €700M into the club, also to delist it from the Italian Stock Exchange. They abandoned a previous project for the stadium to focus on a new one in Pietralata with the full backing of the City. It has been progressing, although not very quickly given the usual bureaucratic problems. The Giallorossi recently changed their CEO, firing Pietro Berardi and appointing Lina Souloukou.
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