ROMA PART WAYS WITH MOURINHO

Read Time:1 Minute, 40 Second

Roma have sacked Jose Mourinho, with the club languishing in ninth place in Serie A.

His final game in charge was Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to AC Milan – which a suspended Mourinho had to watch from the stands – meaning the Stadio Olympico-based outfit had won just one of their past six league games, while they were also dumped out of the Coppa Italia by arch-rivals Lazio last week.

In total, Roma have won just eight of their 20 matches in Serie A this season and sit behind the likes of Bologna, Atalanta and Fiorentina in the race for European qualification.

In a statement, Roma owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin said: ‘We would like to thank Jose on behalf of all of us at AS Roma for his passion and efforts since his arrival at the club.

‘We will always have great memories of his tenure at Roma, but we believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club.

‘We wish Jose and his assistants all the best in their future endeavours.’

In a statement on the club’s X account, they added: ‘Thanks for everything on behalf of everyone at AS Roma, Jose.’

Reports have suggested that Daniele De Rossi is the favourite to replace Mourinho as head coach.

Talks are underway with the 40-year old who though he made over 600 appearances in Roma’s midfield, has limited coaching experience having worked with the Italian federation and Serie B side SPAL who sacked him a year ago.

Former Chelsea and Spurs boss Antonio Conte and Graham Potter, also formerly of Chelsea and Brighton, are also being considered.

Mourinho joined Roma in May 2021 and spent two-and-a-half years in the role, leading them to the Europa Conference League title in 2022 when they beat Feyenoord, which was the club’s first European trophy since 1961.

He also guided them to the Europa League final last season, before they were defeated by Sevilla on penalties.