Gianluca Mancini will take his place in Rome’s defence tonight having chosen continuity over a summer move that could have put him on the other side of a match already carrying the atmosphere of a title contest. Inter wanted the Roma defender, and his childhood support for the Nerazzurri made the prospect particularly striking, but the 29-year-old decided that his future remained in the capital.
Key takeaways
- Mancini turned down Inter despite the prospect of a higher salary and interest from a club he supported as a boy.
- He renewed with Roma on a reduced fixed wage, with appearance and team-performance bonuses included in his new terms.
- His agent Giuseppe Riso said the defender also rejected more lucrative opportunities in order to stay with the Giallorossi.
- Mancini has made 324 appearances for Roma and will again be expected to start on the right of the back line tonight.
- With 23 Roma goals, he has moved beyond Aldair and trails only Christian Panucci among the club’s highest-scoring central defenders.
A decision for Roma rather than Milan
There was a plausible summer scenario in which Mancini joined Inter and returned to the Olimpico as an opponent. The Nerazzurri offered the stature of Italy’s strongest club, improved financial terms and the chance to represent the side associated with his idol, Marco Materazzi. Cristian Chivu was prepared to welcome him in Milan.
Mancini did not allow those factors to alter his commitment to Roma. Even a possible approach from Paris Saint-Germain would not have changed his position, such was his attachment to the club and the city. He instead agreed fresh terms with the Giallorossi and tied himself again to their longer-term project.
The agreement involves a lower guaranteed salary than the €2.5 million he earned last season. Its structure resembles those accepted by Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Bryan Cristante, with bonuses connected to appearances and Roma’s collective objectives.
Riso acknowledged that he had encouraged his client to consider leaving. “I would have preferred to sell him,” the agent said after the transfer window. “He had even bigger offers, but he was determined to remain at Roma.” He added that Gian Piero Gasperini and sporting director Frederic Massara’s predecessor, Ricky Massara? No—Gasperini and sporting director D’Amico, had succeeded where he had not: “They convinced him better than I did. He rejected everything for Roma. I told him he was crazy because he could have earned more, but he is happy this way.”
A leader in Gasperini’s Roma
Fresh from another Italy call-up, the 1996-born defender has become one of Roma’s reference points on and off the pitch. Gasperini has continued to rely on him even when his physical condition has not been ideal, and Mancini has answered through his work at both ends of the field.
Against Torino on Monday, two recoveries by Mancini helped create both Roma goals. His record against Inter gives him another incentive for the evening ahead: he has scored four times against the Nerazzurri, including three goals in a Roma shirt, although only one of those strikes has so far produced points.
He is set to occupy the right-hand position in the defence, where he has become a familiar figure across 324 appearances. Leo Balerdi could be the unexpected selection alongside him in place of Evan Ndicka.
Mancini’s two goals in the most recent derby carried a wider historical weight. They took him to 23 goals for Roma, ahead of Aldair, making him the club’s second most prolific central defender. Only Panucci, another player with connections to both Roma and Inter, remains in front of him on 31.
