Massimo Ferrero confirmed he put Sampdoria up for sale because he “cannot achieve any more” with the club, but would still love to purchase his beloved Roma.
The movie mogul is a Giallorossi fan born and bred, but has been at the helm of Samp since 2014.
“There was already talk of buying Roma in 2010, but I said no,” he told students at an event today.
Massimo Ferrero confirmed he put Sampdoria up for sale because he “cannot achieve any more” with the club, but would still love to purchase his beloved Roma.
The movie mogul is a Giallorossi fan born and bred, but has been at the helm of Samp since 2014.
“There was already talk of buying Roma in 2010, but I said no,” he told students at an event today.
“I didn’t care about football then, I just went to games in order to network and cultivate relationships, nothing else. I was a Romanista, as that ran in the family, but there’s a difference between passion and being crazy about a team. I stopped at passion, as I had other interests in life.
“Sampdoria came along, it wasn’t really planned. Now I find myself threatened by fans, as they want Gianluca Vialli in charge. I’d be happy if he did buy the club, but I have set my price.
“I don’t want to exaggerate, but when I first arrived at the Bogliasco training centre, the first thing I saw was a broken gate. This Serie A club, whose name was famous all over the world, presents itself like that. I rebuilt the whole training camp, including a new hotel and area for the youth team to study.
“We now sign €20-25m players because they are prepared to come. We focus more on getting young players with good prospects, so out of 10 signings, you get about five right and sell them on at a big profit. This is one way of working in football, the other is being Juventus.
“I could be ready to take over Roma or a top level club now. I put Sampdoria up for sale because I cannot do any more. If I had the opportunity to purchase Roma, I’d take it tomorrow.”
Ferrero is reported to be considering the role of Coach Eusebio Di Francesco, who replaced Milan-bound Marco Giampaolo over the summer.
“Giampaolo was a more defensive-minded Coach, whereas Di Francesco likes to attack. For example, we had Dodo as a full-back, but Giampaolo wanted a more defensive figure there.”