Ranieri on why Gasperini was chosen as Roma coach & reveals: ‘I’m ready to step aside unless I’m asked to stay’ | OneFootball

Claudio Ranieri has spoken candidly about his role at Roma, the appointment of Gian Piero Gasperini as head coach, and his own future at the club, making clear he has no intention of overstaying his welcome in any capacity.

The Roma senior advisor spoke to DAZN ahead of the club’s Serie A clash with Pisa, drawing a clear distinction between his current advisory role and the hands-on nature of his previous spell as head coach.

“My balance sheet I will draw up at the end,” he said, with quotes via CalcioMercato.

“Now my work is very different from that of a coach. I give my opinion when consulted by the ownership, not the coach, and I only marginally involve myself in matters on the pitch.”

ROME, ITALY – MARCH 19: Gian Piero Gasperini, Head Coach of AS Roma, looks on prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Round of 16 Second Leg match between AS Roma and Bologna FC 1909 at Stadio Olimpico on March 19, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Ranieri: ‘We chose Gasperini for Roma because…’

On the appointment of Gasperini, Ranieri offered a rare and revealing insight into the process.

He had proposed a shortlist of five or six names, three of whom ultimately declined, before the club settled on the Atalanta man.

“I spoke with him because I knew him,” Ranieri said. “We chose him for what he had done at Atalanta, starting with young players and gradually bringing them onto the biggest stages. We expected what is happening now. We brought in young players, all chosen together, not one arrived without his approval. Ziolkowski, Ghilardi, Venturino and Zaragoza all came on his specific request, to give the coach a squad capable of building on a campaign that had finished one point from the Champions League.”

Perhaps most striking were Ranieri’s words about his own position.

The veteran, who returned to Roma as a caretaker coach before transitioning into his current senior advisory role, made clear he has no ego investment in remaining at the club.

“If I am consulted again, I will continue,” he said. “Otherwise I can also leave. I love Roma and I am ready to step aside as senior advisor, just as I had already done before as coach.”

It is a characteristically selfless statement from a man who has always placed the club’s interests above his own, and a reminder that Ranieri’s involvement at Roma, however long it lasts, will always be defined by quiet devotion rather than personal ambition.

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