Mourinho gets his wish as AS Roma seals one his Special Ones
AS Roma sealed the deal and the Portuguese manager will have a second reunion with one of his best players
It had been coming for a while, but now it's official: Nemanja Matic will play for AS Roma. The Serbian defensive midfielder had been in José Mourinho's agenda for a while, as the Portuguese manager seeks to improve his team that came ever so close to a return to Champions League football, and now he's got the first piece of the jigsaw.
"I am pleased and honoured to be joining this club and I cannot wait to start the new season with my teammates," Matic said as he was announced as a new player for the Giallorossi. "Roma is a big club, with amazing fans and a coach, Jose Mourinho, who is well known to everyone - making the decision to come here very straightforward.I hope that by working together we are able to achieve some great things".
Mourinho turned to someone he has known for a while, as he first coached Matic during his second spell at Chelsea, and then again during his days as Manchester United manager. For the Roma fans, it's good news: every time the Matic/Mourinho duo has been working, there has been success.
Roma icon Damiano Tommassi, who was part of the Roma Serie A winning side of 2000-01 and played in the same spot as Matic, was very complimentary of the addition. "I consider it an important signal towards the coach, a sign of trust", he told Roma radio TeleRadioStereo. "Especially given that there was some speculation towards the end of the campaign."
"Now we are talking about the arrival of a player strongly desired by Mourinho", continued Tommasi. "This confirms how much the coach believes in Roma's project and that there is plenty of room to hope for a good future ahead of us."
Nemanja Matic leaves Manchester United after wearing 189 times the Red Devils' shirt, with who he reached two finals, being FA Cup runner-up in 2017-18 and UEFA Europa League runner-up in 2020-21.
Continue reading: CONFIRMED: Chiellini announces his "next chapter"