The Giallorossi faithful saw two decades of history flash before their eyes in the space of two minutes, as two Roman stalwarts were substituted off on 71 and 73 minutes against Juventus.
Over the last decade, Roma have shown great dedication to two of their homegrown stars.
Francesco Totti, the club’s 38-year-old captain, has proved to be one of the greats, not only for Roma, but for all of Italian football. Totti has played a whopping 579 times for the Giallorossi, scoring 240 goals in a career that has spanned more than 20 years.
Always aspiring to Totti’s legendary club status has been Daniele De Rossi, who owns a World Cup winners’ medal and a Serie A Footballer of the Year Award.
But while Totti has remained almost completely relevant in Rome over the last season and a half, it is De Rossi who has found himself as a fading star. Form, injuries and suspensions have only helped to fuel the debate of whether or not the midfielder is still as valuable or necessary to the Roma cause.
The diminishing importance of De Rossi’s role in Roma’s midfield has been helped by the emergence of Radja Nainggolan. The Belgian midfielder has continually starred for the Giallorossi since arriving just over a year ago.
Signed last January from Cagliari, Nainggolan was originally the stop-gap to fill in for the injured Kevin Strootman. At the time, Strootman was on his way to surpassing De Rossi in importance as well, though injuries have now curtailed the Dutchman’s progress.
Compared to other Serie A talent in terms of salary, De Rossi — at €6.5 million per season — is head-and-shoulders above players that are performing better for their respective clubs.
Case in point, Carlos Tevez’s 41 goals and 17 assists in all competitions since arriving at Juventus in 2013 is only good enough to earn €4.5 million. Gianluigi Buffon, Italy and Juventus’ No.1 earns €4 million per season along with teammate Arturo Vidal.
The highest paid non-Juventus player and second highest paid player in Serie A is Gonzalo Higuain at €5.5 million. Being paid well is one thing, but these players have won trophies over the last few seasons and have backed their price tags through their Serie A performances.
Roma have fallen off greatly since November and De Rossi has not helped. The Italian has played 21 times for Rudi Garcia’s team this term, tallying a mere two goals and one assist.
In addition, De Rossi has been substituted by Garcia in 14 matches thus far, including Monday night’s 1–1 draw with Juventus. De Rossi spent the final 17 minutes looking on with a bemused look on his face.
At 31, De Rossi’s market value is far less than what it was two years ago.
According to Tranfsermarkt , De Rossi’s value peaked in 2010 at more than €41 million. That value has declined since then, currently nestled in the €16 million region. He is on the wrong side of 30, which begs the question: How many teams would still splash nearly €20 million for the Italian?
In contrast, Nainggolan has never seen his value higher. Yet, De Rossi remains the highest wage earner in Serie A, while Nainngolan is reportedly on a mere €1.6 million. The Belgian was a steal for Roma in true Moneyball fashion.
While De Rossi’s passion may have kept him at Roma, and the club have shown a willingness to keep their legends at the club, it is not in Roma’s best [financial] interest to pay a fading star nearly €5 million more than their most influential player.
It now looks increasingly likely that Roma will miss out on the Scudetto for a second straight season.
If Garcia is to stay in Rome, it may be time to finally cut ties with Totti but especially with De Rossi. Like pulling off a plaster, it’s something that the club will need to do quickly to avoid too much pain.
