STROOTMAN
"He will be like a new signing for us. It was a big blow to lose him as he’s an extraordinary footballer. We’re extremely determined to keep him. He is a very important player for us and when he returns I’m sure we’ll see him back to his best. He’s a problem for other clubs because he’s not their player – he belongs to us. I can’t tell you how much he’s worth because he’s not for sale and you only give players valuations once they’re on the market. He’s an incredible player for us, but you never know in football. I’m sure that he’ll get some offers, but we will do everything in our power to hold on to him. It's reassuring for us to knowing that Strootman is nearing a return to action – we can’t wait to have him back."
GOOD BUSINESS
"I’m always trying to achieve the perfect squad. I’m in a permanent state of restlessness; I’ll never stop working and I’ll never be satisfied. I’m convinced that this group of players will compete, but that’s not enough for me. That’s just the way I am. I’m not trying to say that we’re still looking to bring players in; it’s just my way of working. I’m never completely satisfied at the end of a transfer window – there’s always more to be done. Nonetheless, I’m very pleased with the group of players that we have, as is Rudi Garcia. We’ve got two or three players in each position now, so we’re expecting big performances from the team, like the one they put in against Fiorentina. I’m not going to give our transfer window a score out of ten – at the end of the season we’ll see whether or not we fought for the title."
RABIOT
"Rabiot is an exceptional player, a guy who was only born in 1995 but is playing in a team full of superstars. Of course we’re following him. We’re big fans of his, but we’ll go about it the right way, working closely with PSG. As a big club, we want to behave correctly when dealing with other great European clubs. We don’t want to do PSG the discourtesy of taking him on a free - we’ll do the same thing as we did with Sanabria. It’s sure to be a tricky one because his contractual situation is no secret and there are a number of great clubs interested in him. We’ll give it a go."
BENATIA
"Pallotta has already responded to this matter in detail. Bayern Munich have asked us to put an end to all the quarreling. In some senses, the player tried to behave in the right way but in others he messed up. When we signed him, he agreed to join us despite the fact that our offer was lower than a different offer he’d had from another club in Italy. In January he came to me and told me that he’d received a big offer, but asked to stay subject to certain conditions. His request was very high indeed, high enough that we could barely accommodate it and weren’t keen on doing so. However, we did want to give him a fair contract renewal. We sold him for €28m + €4m add-ons, not for €61m as I had initially demanded, because he was no longer the same Benatia – he was no longer the giant of a man with a real fire in his belly that he was when he joined us. He just didn’t want to be here anymore. Maybe I was being too kind when I called Sissoko (Benatia's agent) a minstrel!"
MAICON
"I must just say something first of all. In order to join Roma, Maicon passed up on a lot of money from Manchester City to accept a lower offer from us. He said no to easy money to come to Roma so we must be grateful to him for that. He’s not up to anything, as I’ve read in various places. He often played for us when he was far from 100% and still managed to have a great season. Let’s pay him the respect he deserves – it’s his own life to live the way he wants. He played against Colombia and he's fine."
LAMELA AND DODO' SALES
"That’s a tough question for me. I always feel down emotionally speaking after a transfer window. Sometimes you’re forced to make painful decisions. Lamela and Dodò are great players, as is Marquinhos, and selling them was not something that the coach wanted – we had to let them go. Dodò was sold because he’d come to believe that he wouldn’t be able to develop here because he didn’t feel fully appreciated. He made a tough call, but it was the right one for him. Perhaps now he’ll get the recognition he deserves when he plays well. I’m not accusing the press, I’m just saying that was the main factor behind his departure. Lamela and Marquinhos were sold for more economic and technical reasons."
LOTITO
"Do I share the same view as De Rossi? Look… being a gentleman I wouldn’t like to say too much about Lotito because he used to be my president. However, I don’t think he should be saying that a player can’t speak about an owner because that’s a very outdated view. When Daniele De Rossi speaks it’s correct that everybody listens to him because he always speaks sense."
SCUDETTO AIM
"Our roster has all the necessary attributes to fight for the Scudetto, but I can’t deny that all of the other clubs have also strengthened. Inter have, as have AC Milan thanks to three great days' work from Galliani. Lazio have made some shrewd buys, Fiorentina are up there and Napoli still have a great roster. Having said that, we need to ensure that we’re challenging for the championship. Would I give up smoking for a month if we won the Scudetto? No – anything else! Juventus? They definitely haven’t become weaker, but perhaps some of the choices they’ve made have allowed us to close the gap on them. It certainly isn’t a 17-point gap anymore."
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
"We’re playing the strongest team in the group first, even if they don’t get much recognition. CSKA have an awesome squad – they’ve won the last two league titles and boast players that we’d all love to have on our rosters. There are just a few days until we play them and, of course, we want to win but it’ll be difficult."
ITURBE
"Iturbe is a great player, but perhaps he’s not realized that fully yet. He’s had a tough start because when he joined the group he stopped doing the things that usually come naturally to him. I’m sure the chemistry will come."
DESTRO
"You always listen to the market. I listened to the rumors surrounding Destro and it’s true that I had some meetings about Mattia, but deep down I never wanted to sell him. There’s also a bit of vanity there, I suppose – it feels good to receive a big offer and reject it. I wanted to understand how he was thought of in other countries. We know all about Destro, he’ll be our center-forward this season and he’ll do a great job of it."
PJANIC
"We renegotiated his contract and his wages are high, which might have raised a few eyebrows in the locker room, but we couldn’t risk losing him on a free transfer. In any case, there was no issue because our players are smart enough to understand."
TADDEI
"Letting him go was devastating for me. Lots of people really wanted him to stay on so you can imagine how hard it was for me to tell him he was no longer in our plans, and that we were signing a player of the same age but with more international experience (Keita). That was really tough. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Rodrigo all the best and say that I hope he can bring Perugia, my hometown club, back to Serie A."
COMPETITION IN THE MARKET
"Roma don’t pay over the odds for players to keep them away from our rivals. When I sign a footballer, I pay the right price – sometimes even less than he's worth. I heard it said that we paid €5 million for Bastos last year when in fact he was signed on loan and cost us next to nothing."
