Pietro Vierchowod says that if Roma’s ambitions this season are to win something, then Mehdi Benatia’s sale would not have occurred.
The 27-year-old is in Germany today completing formalities on an initial €26m transfer to Bayern Munich, but one former Giallorosso defender sees the technical deficit created in his exit.
Pietro Vierchowod says that if Roma’s ambitions this season are to win something, then Mehdi Benatia’s sale would not have occurred.
The 27-year-old is in Germany today completing formalities on an initial €26m transfer to Bayern Munich, but one former Giallorosso defender sees the technical deficit created in his exit.
“Simply, if Roma want to win, this is a sale that they would not have done,” Vierchowod, who represented the club in the 1982-83 season, has told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“This, of course, is talking only from the technical point of view, because I do not want to get into discussing considerations that are economic or on the behaviour that the guy may have had within the environment.”
Roma have brought in Kostas Manolas as a replacement, but Vierchowod is cautious on placing too much expectation on the 23-year-old.
“Is Manolas not a convincing substitute? I do not dispute the value of the player, but to immediately come into a League as difficult as ours is not easy.
“Benatia more convincing? Without a doubt. Besides the many goals scored last season, the fact is that he has been bought by a big club like Bayern Munich, and this means a lot.
“Note, however, that this is not a rejection of Manolas. I’m just saying that he is a player who is yet to be evaluated in comparison to another who has already shown all of his potential.”