Roma Coach Eusebio Di Francesco insists Kevin Strootman “wanted a change, a new experience”.
The Dutch midfielder officially joined Marseille this week, but there were rumours he was forced out and fans were not happy with his sale.
“I salute the player, he wanted a change, a new experience,” Di Francesco said in his Press conference ahead of the Milan game.
“When I said the other day that Roma comes first, what I meant was that I wanted players with the desire to wear the shirt and give everything.
Roma Coach Eusebio Di Francesco insists Kevin Strootman “wanted a change, a new experience”.
The Dutch midfielder officially joined Marseille this week, but there were rumours he was forced out and fans were not happy with his sale.
“I salute the player, he wanted a change, a new experience,” Di Francesco said in his Press conference ahead of the Milan game.
“When I said the other day that Roma comes first, what I meant was that I wanted players with the desire to wear the shirt and give everything.
“Strootman, as long as he was here, played until the end just as [Edin] Dzeko did in January. When a player asks to leave I don’t hold them, because the main thing is that a player wants to stay.
“The reaction? You’d have to ask the fans. There are some situations we can’t be happy with, but we started worse last year.
“We have four points, but a lot of teams have less. There are a lot of situations to be talked about, but we need to talk with criteria, with concepts and balance, without necessarily attacking anyone.
“My job is to be balanced and protect the players, while trying to take Roma as far as possible.
“Sometimes we’re judged on things that aren’t true, time will tell what our future will be.”