Lazio defender Alessio Romagnoli seemed to already have his bags in hand for Qatar but in the last few hours there was a dramatic change from owner Lotito.
- January 12, 1995
- Italia
- 185 cm
- 75 kg
- Biography
Alessio Romagnoli is an Italian central defender, left-footed, appreciated for his elegance in his play and tactical reliability. Equipped with excellent positional sense, he stands out for his ability to read the opponent’s actions in advance, for the timing of his interventions and for a good quality in his approach from below. Although he is not particularly quick, he makes up for it with experience, defensive intelligence and leadership, qualities that make him a reference for the defensive department.
Over the course of his career he has won important trophies, in particular the 2021-22 Scudetto with Milan, a club of which he was also captain for several seasons, as well as the 2016 Italian Super Cup. With Lazio he then added an Italian Cup, confirming himself as a reliable defender even in different contexts. At an international level he was part of the group of the Italian national team that won Euro 2020, despite not taking the field in the final phase of the tournament.
Among the curiosities, Romagnoli has been a Lazio fan since he was a child and his return to Rome, the Biancoceleste side, represented a choice strongly linked to the heart as well as to his career.
Lazio’s winter transfer market is turning into a real soap opera, made up of twists and growing tensions. The last chapter is about Alessio Romagnoli, further and further from Formello. The Biancoceleste defender, in fact, has already reached an agreement with Roberto Mancini’s Al Sadd, a choice that has sparked a real earthquake in the Capitoline environment, perhaps well beyond the expectations of president Claudio Lotito himself.
The origin of the fracture
At the basis of the rupture there is an issue that has been dragging on for some time. For at least three years Romagnoli has been asking the company for a contractual adjustment, which has never arrived. The blockade of the summer transfer market had frozen any discussion, but with the unblocking which occurred at the beginning of the month, the Roman center back was expecting a concrete signal from the club. A signal that, however, never arrived.
While Lazio proceeded with the renewals of Basic e MarusicRomagnoli’s prosecutor, Enzo Raiola, tried unsuccessfully to obtain a discussion with the management. At that point the decision: accept Al Sadd’s rich proposalready to guarantee the defender a salary of 6 million euros net per season for the next three years.
The back and forth with Lotito
The reaction of the fans was not long in coming. The ultras invited the Biancoceleste people to desert the Olympic stadium for the Lazio-Genoa match, a sign of deep discontent. Probably, even in the face of this stance, Lotito would have attempted one last approach to mend the rift.
As reported by The Messengerthere would have been a heated confrontation between the president and the player yesterday afternoon: “You’ve been teasing me for three years“, Romagnoli would have said. Lotito’s reply is ready: “Go to Sarri, who doesn’t want to lose you, and tell him that I offered you the extension and you want to leave.”
The club’s strategy
Maurizio Sarri immediately opposed the transfer of the defender, considered a technical and charismatic leader both on the pitch and in the dressing room. The Tuscan coach convinced Romagnoli to leave for Lecce, given the emergency in the back department. In the meantime, Lotito tries to change the cards on the table. According to what he reports lalaziosiamonoi, Lazio would have raised the request for the price tag to 15 million euros, compared to the initial 10, in an attempt to discourage the Qatari club. With a contract expiring in June 2027, the Biancoceleste president also seems ready for a long tug-of-war, in the hope of a sensational about-face from his central defender.
