Roma must build a more sustainable financial model and cannot depend on selling players for capital gains, chief executive Dan Friedkin has said.
Speaking at the Trento Sports Festival, Friedkin outlined plans to strengthen the club’s academy, create a new route for young players into the senior team and work more closely with OGC Nice, which is also owned by the Friedkin family.
“You cannot live off capital gains alone,” Friedkin said. “It’s not enough, because sooner or later you will make mistakes in the transfer market.”
Roma’s academy has been “one of Italy’s best for many years”, according to Friedkin, but the club wants to produce more players capable of establishing themselves in the first team.
“We must develop more talent, and we need more players like Zalewski and Cristante,” he said.
A central part of the plan is to address the difficult transition between youth football and senior competition. Roma believe players often need an additional stage of development before they can move into the first team, and are therefore considering the creation of a U23 side.
“Between the youth team and the first team, an additional development stage is needed,” Friedkin said. “Therefore, we need a U23 team.”
Wider development strategy
Roma also intend to increase cooperation with OGC Nice, with Friedkin identifying France as one of the world’s richest markets for young football talent.
The club’s objective is to establish “a very solid development path”. That would involve promoting academy players into the first team each year, increasing the value of other young players through the transfer market and reinvesting the resulting income into what Friedkin described as a “sustainable development model”.
A new stadium is another major part of Roma’s long-term plans, with the club viewing it as a way to increase revenue and improve its competitiveness.
“In four years, the new stadium will change everything, because it will increase our operating revenue and allow us to make a leap forward economically and competitively,” Friedkin said.
He added that the venue would be designed specifically for football and supporters, unlike the Stadio Olimpico.
“The Stadio Olimpico holds many memories, but it was not designed for football, whereas our new stadium will be,” he said.
The plans include a more compact South Stand, intended to reduce the sense of space being spread out across the ground. Roma hope to hold the groundbreaking ceremony between March and April next year.
The stadium project is expected to cost approximately 1.3 billion euros. Friedkin said the scale of the investment reflected the Friedkin family’s long-term commitment to Roma.
“We must respect their character and their emphasis on privacy, but the family is very committed before, during, and after matches,” he said. “Moreover, if you don’t truly believe in the project, you wouldn’t make such an investment.”
Asked whether Roma would sign a left-winger, Friedkin said the club remained open to opportunities.
“We are always attentive to see if suitable opportunities arise in the market,” he said. “We hope to continue growing this team.”
