And finally it thundered so much that it rained. After months of negotiations, which seemed to have stalled definitively due to the lockdown, an agreement was finally found for the sale of As Roma: the new owner is the 54-year-old Californian entrepreneur Dan Friedkin, film producer and automotive executive, currently serving as CEO of Gulf States Toyota Distributors and the Friedkin Companies. The deal closed for almost 600 million, including debt (that of Rome is approaching 300 million). Thus ends, after 9 years and with zero titles, the James Pallotta era, but the Giallorossi club remains with stars and stripes, passing into the hands of a multifaceted entrepreneur capable of achieving, according to Forbes estimates, a personal fortune of over 4 billion dollars.
The Capital club will be managed by Dan Friedkin's son Ryan and will be controlled through a London-based newco. The closing will be formalized by the end of the month, perhaps even sooner. A week later Pallotta will receive approximately 200 million of his share, then Friedkin will pay a substantial capital increase, which will reach 31/85 million by December 90st. Meanwhile, Friedkin is already working on the management team: formally he has not asked any manager to stay, but CEO Fienga should remain in place, at least initially. Possible reinstatement, at this point, also for the fired sports director Gianluca Petrachi, who had heavily quarreled with Pallotta. But some rumors also speak of a return of the former sporting director, still highly esteemed in the environment, Walter Sabatini.
Sabatini is now in charge of the technical area of Bologna, where he is also about to involve the former Roma player Daniele De Rossi as coach of the Primavera. The ds was the architect, a few years ago, of Pallotta's first Rome, the one that had come closest to winning something: it was he who brought players of the caliber of Alisson, Salah, Dzeko, Manolas, Nainggolan, Pjanic to the Giallorossi. As for the technician, at the moment the position of Fonseca does not seem to be in question. Much will also depend on Roma's progress in the Europa League, after a season that was not disappointing but not even exciting in the league, finished in fifth place. The new corporate structure does not displease investors either, who, however, respond with caution: by mid-morning, the Roma stock is gaining around 2% on the stock market.
