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AS Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi confirmed that he would be leaving the Serie A side after 18 years at the club.
He played his first match in the 2001/2002 season when coming on as a substitute for Ivan Tomic for the final 20-minutes of the Italian Giants UEFA Champions League group stage game against Anderlecht. Since then the now veteran midfielder has played a total of 615 times scoring 63.
Joining from hometown club Ostia Mare, de Rossi has become the second highest capped Giallorossi player behind Francesco Totti, who featured 786 times before retiring in 2017.
The 35-year-old said in his farewell press conference:
“I wouldn’t change anything about my decision to stay loyal to this team.
“If I had a magic wand, I would put a few more trophies in the cabinet, but nobody can do that. Over the years, perhaps I’ve made a few mistakes, but it couldn’t be any other way.
“There is huge love there between myself and Roma and that will continue, in another form. I wouldn’t bet against you seeing me sneaking into the stadium or an away game in the coming years, with a sandwich and a beer, cheering on my friends.”
During his time as a player for the Serie A side, De Rossi won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa in 2007, while he retained the earlier in 2008. The club said that the player who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, would not be retiring but pursuing “a new adventure” elsewhere.
This came after he turned down the chance to move into a director’s role at Roma, due to the Italian “still feeling like a player.”
Jim Pallotta the club’s current president paid tribute to De Rossi’s time at Roma:
“For 18 years, Daniele has been the beating heart of AS Roma’s team.
“From his debut in 2001 to taking on the responsibility of the captain’s armband, he always represented the Roma fans on the pitch with pride as he established himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe.
“We will all shed tears when he pulls on the Giallorossi shirt for the last time against Parma but we respect his desire to prolong his playing career – even if, at almost 36, it will be away from Rome.”
As it stands in the Serie A, the Giallorossi are in sixth with three points off of Atalanta in fourth. If in the final two matches they gained more points than those around them they would secure Champions League qualification for the fifth year in a row.
De Rossi’s final game for Roma will be on Sunday, 26 May when they host Parma.
