Roma fired José Mourinho and appointed Daniele De Rossi on Tuesday in a sudden move but not completely out of the blue. The owners had been setting the stage, as they had already talked with the icon.
According to La Repubblica, the beginning of the end started on Monday night. Dan and Ryan Friedkin had a private chat with the Special One at the Trigoria training center. They hashed things out frankly and explicitly. The brass was disappointed with the results and the adversarial attitude of the coach. He was blindsided by the decision and didn’t take it well.
The duo started thinking about moving on from Mourinho after the Europa League final in Budapest. The gaffer followed referee Anthony Taylor to the parking lot to insult him. They apologized to UEFA shortly thereafter. The boss often accused them of abandoning him in his battles.
The Special One received an ultimatum in mid-December. He began butting heads with part of the locker room too. De Rossi hinted he’d be open to taking over last week. He’ll earn 500k till the end of the season, plus a Champions League-related bonus, but no further clauses.
Our Take on Roma and Mourinho
The intention to keep their options open was manifest without a contract extension, then things snowballed from there. The former midfielder is de facto a caretaker manager. Very few quality coaches would have accepted the job. It’ll be up to their new director to pick the next coach or confirm the rookie.
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