Roma appear to be one of the potential next destinations for Antonio Conte, but Financial Fair Play restrictions for the Giallorossi mean the ex-Tottenham boss could be a difficult target to reach writes Lorenzo Bettoni.
Conte officially left North London by mutual consent on Sunday, after less barely 14 months in charge of the club.
The Italian tactician is facing a tricky situation as his salary at Tottenham would be too high for any top Serie A club, not to mention that Juventus, Inter, Milan and Roma, who have all been linked with the former midfielder, are not considering sacking their coaches, at least at the moment.
Of course, things could and will likely change in the next few months with all Serie A giants involved in the race for the top four as well as European competitions.
Conte was in talks with Roma before signing for Inter in 2019 and is an option for the Giallorossi if José Mourinho leaves in the summer. His contact expires in June 2024.
The Special One expects investments in the market and will explain his plans for the future in a meeting with Roma owners over the next few weeks.
However, the Special One is aware Roma must operate following financial restrictions imposed by UEFA’s Financial Fair Play.
“I want to clarify the present and future plans of an ambitious club that want to grow, respecting the rules of financial fair play and economic sustainability,” Roma director Tiago Pinto said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport in January.
“It’s not always possible to get what we want. Due to UEFA restrictions, we can’t identify the players we want and tell the owners to make an extra effort. I can’t say we have all the players we dreamed of, but we have those required for our targets, who we could sign. We live in the real world, not the one only made of desires.
“Within the settlement agreement, there is a parameter to respect, it’s called transfer balance. Basically, for every transfer window, the cost of players in the A UEFA list can’t be superior to the cost of the same list in the previous season. For costs, we mean the players’ contracts, the entirety of bonuses, the transfer fee, commission and amortisation.”
Roma signed Nemanja Matic, Paulo Dybala, and Andrea Belotti on free transfers and loaned Gini Wijnaldum from PSG last summer but their most expensive purchase was Zeki Celik from Lille for just €7m.
Monday’s edition of Il Corriere dello Sport adds the Giallorossi need to sell players for €50-55m in the summer, with Tammy Abraham and Roger Ibañez expected to leave.
In this scenario, the Giallorossi’s priority is to persuade Mourinho to stay at the club, but if the Portuguese boss decides to leave, then Conte would be their leading candidate for the job.
It remains to be seen if the 53-year-old will agree to move to the Stadio Olimpico if Mourinho leaves, especially considering how demanding the former midfielder is regarding new signings.
On paper, a club and a project like Roma is something that would perfectly suit the ex-Italy CT who is not accustomed to be appointed by clubs favourite for domestic titles. However, the financial aspects of a potential deal can’t be underestimated. Conte surely doesn’t lack admirers in Italy and the four-time Serie A winner is no new to surprising decisions, as proved in November 2021, when he signed an 18-month contract with Tottenham.
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