Stephan El Shaarawy insists his move to Shanghai Shenhua ‘isn’t a goodbye’ from Roma but admits ‘I was hoping for a different ending.’
El Shaarawy passed up the opportunity of a new contract with Roma to join Shenhua, where he will earn €15-16m a season.
However, his transfer to China has come in for criticism, with many accusing the winger of selling out.
Stephan El Shaarawy insists his move to Shanghai Shenhua ‘isn’t a goodbye’ from Roma but admits ‘I was hoping for a different ending.’
El Shaarawy passed up the opportunity of a new contract with Roma to join Shenhua, where he will earn €15-16m a season.
However, his transfer to China has come in for criticism, with many accusing the winger of selling out.
“Given that I haven’t issued a statement for a month now, taking the right time to think, so many things were written and said, many of which didn’t correspond to reality,” the 26-year-old wrote on Instagram.
“I was hoping for a different ending, but you don’t always get what you want! There are many, too many, factors to take into account in situations like these and sometimes they don’t depend only on you…!
“It was a difficult and heavy decision to take, but in life we always reach a point when certain choices must be made, when you tip everything on the scales, for your career and, above all, your life.
“I’m aware that I’m joining a ‘new’ world with new perspectives, while continuing to do what I’ve always lived for.
“What’s for certain is that no-one will ever take away the emotions I felt while playing with this shirt, from that backheel goal on my debut until the final round of applause at the Olimpico!
“I speak to you with an open heart, as if you were my friends, and I want to tell you that I leave, with great malice, a city and a set of fans that gave me so much, from the first day I arrived.
“In these three-and-a-half years, I’ve grown so much with you and I strongly feel that I have to thank you all, from my fans to my teammates, from the Coaches to the directors, from the people who work at Trigoria to all the people I’ve met here in Rome…
“All this can be simply summarised by one word: family! And the thing that makes me happiest is that I left behind a good memory in the personal relationships I created with all the people who have been with me along this path.
“That’s what will always remain in my heart, regardless of everything! This isn’t a goodbye… thank you Roma.”