Monchi: “At Roma they lacked patience.” | OneFootball

Monchi closes another chapter in his executive career, leaving Aston Villa after two successful seasons.

The Spanish sporting director reviewed his time in England, including a candid look at his past at Roma, in an interview with Flashscore.

After helping the Birmingham club qualify for the Champions League, the former Sevilla sporting director explained the reasons behind his departure: a shared and reasoned decision with the owners, based on mutual respect.

A reference to his experience with Roma couldn’t be missed.

Despite the difficulties, Monchi defended his work in the capital: “The first year, the team finished third and played in the Champions League semi-finals. The second year, when I left, we were fifth, so things didn’t go badly.”

“In two transfer windows, we had to sell all the key players due to financial constraints. I think Roma lacked a bit of patience, which is usually the case at clubs. I only remember positive things about Roma, because they were two magnificent years. It was my first time away from Seville and I had a lot of fun, especially the first year.”

Finally, he returned to the controversial transfer of Mohamed Salah to Liverpool, which occurred shortly after his arrival in Rome. “It was necessary. When I arrived there, Salah was essentially sold for €33 million plus €3 million in bonuses. In the end, he was sold for €55 million, but there was already a commitment with the player.”

“He wanted to leave, and the only thing we could do was try to improve the price. There was practically an agreement between Roma and Liverpool. What we did was push to get as much as possible, because the player already knew he wanted to leave.”