Jose Mourinho has launched a sly dig at Maurizio Sarri and his Lazio side after their elimination from the Conference League on Thursday evening.
Lazio fell to consecutive 2-1 defeats against AZ Alkmaar in the Round of 16 of Europe’s tertiary competition.
The Biancocelesti were the only one of seven Italian sides in Europe’s top three competitions who did not progress to the quarter-finals.
Fiorentina are now the only Italian representative left in the Conference League.
Speaking at a press conference after Lazio’s elimination and Roma‘s 0-0 draw against Real Sociedad on Thursday, Mourinho said: “I feel sorry for UEFA, who now have to spend money to ship the Conference League trophy. It could have stayed in Rome, but now instead it’ll probably have to go to Florence.”
His words were a clear dig at Sarri after Mourinho and Roma won the inaugural edition of the Conference League in 2022.
Roma and Lazio will play each other in Serie A in the Derby della Capitale at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening.
Sarri’s side came out on top of a 1-0 result in the reverse leg of the fixture in November 2022.
Lazio’s director of sport Igli Tare took aim at Roma and a number of other Serie A giants in the build-up to that game.
He told guests at the LUISS University in Rome about the evolution of sport and the economic profiles of clubs: “We are driving a Ferrari that will crash sooner or later. In football we invent useless competitions like the Conference League, which I call the losers’ competition, or the Europa League, which have no value for the revenue they produce.”
Ironically, Lazio were knocked out of both the Europa League and Conference league this season.
The Derby on Sunday is, as always, set to be a feisty affair. It will kick off at 17.00 GMT on Sunday.