Roma owner James Pallotta has labelled his side’s UEFA Champions League draw as ‘unfortunate’.
The Giallorossi were drawn alongside 2013 champions Bayern Munich, English champions Manchester City, and Russian champions CSKA Moscow in the group stages of the tournament.
Speaking to Sky Sport following the draw, Pallotta said the draw is ‘unfortunate’, whilst also saying that any side has to beat the big teams in order to progress through the stages of the tournament.
“It was an unfortunate draw,” he said. “However, our opponents also have to face us.
“If you fail to beat the big teams then you do not deserve to progress in the Champions League.”
The 56-year-old then went on to speak about the prospect of facing former player Mehdi Benatia who finalised his move to Bayern Munich on Tuesday for €26 million after only one season at the capital club.
“It’ll be fun,” he said. “The whole team are looking forward to face Benatia; he hates losing.”
Pall0tta concluded his words by speaking about Roma’s target in the Champions League, as well as praising the potential the side possesses.
“If you don’t think you can win the Champions League then you don’t deserve to play in it,” he said. “We deserve to be in this competition and we have a team that can achieve good results.
“We will surprise many people because we have a very strong side.
“There is still room for improvement, but we can become one of Europe’s superpowers as we’ve built a system that will last 20 years.”
It is also worth mentioning that Roma kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign at home to CSKA Moscow on the 17th of September.
