Roma season ticket renewals hit 11,000 on opening day

Walter Sabatini, formerly Roma's sporting director, has defended Ricky Massara following his appointment as Juventus's new technical director. Speaking to Tuttosport, Sabatini argued that Massara was unfairly scapegoated during his time at Roma despite working diligently behind the scenes. "Unfortunately at Roma he became a convenient target: they pointed the finger at anything and everything, but he was always silent. Courteous, well-mannered, he worked enormously behind the scenes and never stepped out of line," Sabatini said. "He was always on top of things, never sparked any controversy with Gasperini, and instead tried in every way to avoid conflict. Roma's Champions League success was a triumph for the coach, the squad, and the club. It's too easy to exclude Massara from the credit — his work was also important." Sabatini attributed friction between Massara and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini to fundamentally different approaches to work and relationships within a team environment. "What didn't work? They think about life and relationships within a working group in completely different ways: they're day and night," he explained. Sabatini concluded that Massara deserved the Juventus move but above all did not warrant the treatment he received in recent months at Roma.

Walter Sabatini has defended Riccardo Massara's work at Roma, days after Massara was appointed to head Juventus's technical area. Speaking to Tuttosport, Sabatini praised Massara's professionalism during his time at the Giallorossi, saying: "Unfortunately at Roma he became a fine catalyst for nonsense: they pointed the finger at him for everything, but he was always silent. Polite, educated, he worked tremendously behind the scenes and never stepped out of line. He was always on top of things, never sparked any argument with Gasperini, indeed he tried in every way to avoid clashes. Roma's Champions League success was a triumph for the coach, the squad and the club. It's too convenient to exclude Massara from the credit—his work was important too." Sabatini went on to address the relationship between Massara and head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, saying they think about life and working relationships in completely different ways. "They are day and night," Sabatini explained. "The things that were said about Ricky speak for themselves. He deserved Juventus, but most of all he didn't deserve to be mistreated as he was in recent months."

Roma will return to their Fulvio Bernardini training centre on Monday for the start of their summer retreat, marking the official beginning of preparations for the new season. The squad will work at reduced strength initially, with several key players still absent due to international commitments. The first two weeks will combine training sessions with a series of friendlies to build match fitness. Roma's opening friendly schedule has undergone a change: the originally planned match against Roma City has been cancelled and replaced by a fixture against Sorianese, an Eccellenza-level club from the Lazio region, on 16 July. Between 19 and 24 July, the club will play two further internal tests, facing the Primavera side and then Trastevere. This framework of fixtures will allow the coaching staff to gradually integrate players returning from their respective national team duties.