Former Roma, Palermo, Inter and Salernitana director Walter Sabatini reveals the players who frustrate and infuriate him the most are Radja Nainggolan and Juventus midfielder Leandro Paredes, but is far from impressed with Jose Mourinho.
The veteran is currently between jobs and keeping a close eye on the Serie A landscape, so he sat down with La Gazzetta dello Sport to discuss his past experiences.
Nainggolan is currently in Serie B with SPAL after a brief experience in Belgium, but he is someone whose off the field lifestyle was always the subject of controversy.
“I love Nainggolan like a son, but he is also a delinquent. If you put seven or eight shot glasses in front of him, he’ll down them all,” said Sabatini.
“Life is like a game to him, but he has good sentiments. He’s an exhibitionist, his teammates should’ve kept a closer eye on him rather than letting him do what he wanted.”
Sabatini is even more irritated with Argentina international Paredes, who is now owned by Paris Saint-Germain and on loan at Juventus, though dropping rapidly down the pecking order due to his work-rate.
“Paredes is really letting me down, every time I see him play, it makes me furious. His indolence is just maddening. He’s such a talented player, his vision in vertical passes is better than anyone in Europe, but the version of Paredes we see now looks like he’s playing on tranquilisers.”
Roma are putting together a series of sold out matches at the Stadio Olimpico in all competition, after winning the Conference League, but Sabatini is no fan of Mourinho’s approach.
“I don’t understand how Roma keep selling out the stadium. These things ought to happen when the team puts on a show, but instead it’s only because the people trust Mourinho.”