Montella regrets end of Gasperini and Ranieri partnership at Roma

Marco Lombardo, a journalist from Il Giornale, has revealed behind-the-scenes details from an interview with José Mourinho, the current Benfica manager. During the conversation, Mourinho became visibly emotional when discussing his time at Roma and the club's supporters. Lombardo recounted that when asked why it is so difficult to succeed at Roma, Mourinho spoke at length about his love for the city and the fanbase, with the experience having deeply changed him. He emphasized this point repeatedly during the interview. Mourinho's affection for Roma runs deep enough that he became visibly moved during the discussion. At one particularly poignant moment, Mourinho paused and said: "My Roma is finished." After making this statement, he became emotional, nearly breaking down, and indicated he did not wish to continue. However, he recovered and resumed speaking about Roma's supporters, saying: "It is not true that at Roma you struggle to win because of the fans—nobody must touch Roma's fans." Lombardo observed that Mourinho's candid display of emotion was striking, noting that while the former Manchester United and Inter Milan manager is known to be a different person in private, this moment revealed his genuine attachment to Roma. The journalist attributed this depth of feeling to the impact Roma's supporters had made on Mourinho during his tenure with the club.

Unai Emery, manager of Aston Villa, has spoken positively about Donyell Malen's transfer to AS Roma during the winter transfer window. Malen joined Roma on a loan deal with a right of purchase, leaving Villa after competition from fellow striker Watkins limited his playing time. Emery explained the reasoning behind allowing the Dutch forward to depart, stating that at Roma, Malen has found the ideal environment to develop his qualities. Emery believes Roma will exercise the option to make Malen's move permanent given his performance since arriving in the capital. The player has featured regularly for the Giallorossi, allowing him to showcase his abilities more consistently than he could at Villa Park. This move represents a fresh start for Malen at a club where he has the opportunity to be a primary attacking option. Speaking to Sky Sport ahead of Villa's Europa League semifinal first leg against Nottingham Forest, Emery said: "Malen is an excellent player. Here he had competition from Watkins, so he played less for that reason and I thought he should play more as a striker. At times he played alongside Watkins, so I believe at Roma he is finding the perfect spot and has played all the matches to exploit his qualities and score goals. I am very happy for him because he is also a good lad. And I hope he continues to score goals." Emery confirmed the arrangement: "It is a loan with a right of purchase that Roma, given the results, will exercise. And for this reason I repeat that I am very happy for him, because he is a good lad and a good player."

Former striker Nicola Ventola has expressed strong admiration for Donyell Malen during an episode of the podcast Viva El Futbol. Ventola, who played for Bari, Inter, and Atalanta during his career, highlighted Malen's technical quality and work rate since the attacker's arrival at Roma in January's transfer window. Malen has already scored 11 league goals this season. Ventola praised Malen's movement and positioning, noting his intelligence in reading defensive play and his ability to find space away from the penalty area. He emphasized that Malen consistently makes the correct decisions in his first touch and positioning relative to defenders, even when his back is turned. The former attacker described Malen as a player he "did not know" to this level before watching him play for Roma. Ventola said: "Malen does everything right, because he also has intensity in the right movements: the first touch in plays, but not just in the area when he scores, precisely how he gets into position. He always knows where the defender is, even with his back turned. Many times I made that movement wrong, because maybe I thought he was following me; he instead always makes the right movement and manages, with his posture, to always be in a position to attack, even when far from the area. So he is a player that honestly I did not know like this: he is extraordinary. What surprises me is that you never see him tired. This surprises me, because he is a sprinter: he sprints, sprints and sprints... and you always see him rested, always sharp."