During transfer windows gone by, Roma have sometimes shopped in the same market to supplement their squad with new players.
In the summer 2023 transfer window, there were two examples of Roma welcoming two players from a single club.
Here they are alongside some other examples from the club’s history of what were effectively double deals, whether organised together or separately.
2023 – Sanches/Paredes
After Georginio Wijnaldum disappointed on loan for Roma from Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022-23 season, it did not stop the club doing business with the same side for two players in the same position a year down the line.
On the same day in August 2023, Roma announced the arrivals of two other midfielders – Leandro Paredes and Renato Sanches – from PSG, on a permanent and loan deal respectively.
For Paredes, it marked the start of a second spell with the club after his previous stint between 2014 and 2017.
Together, Paredes and Sanches’ arrivals were designed to replenish a midfield that had said goodbye to Wijnaldum, Mady Camara, Benjamin Tahirovic and – most significantly of all – Nemanja Matic.
2023 – Llorente/Kristensen
Sanches and Paredes were not the only duo to join Roma in a double deal in the summer of 2023, since Diego Llorente and Rasmus Kristensen had both come in from Leeds United a few weeks prior.
Llorente had been with Roma on loan for the second half of the previous season, whereas Kristensen was someone the club had looked at before but were finally able to take their chance to acquire on loan following relegation for Leeds.
Both defenders – Llorente being a central player and Kristensen a right-back – arrived at Roma on loan for the 2023-24 season, since it turned out to be the easiest formula via which to sign them.
2018 – Zaniolo/Santon
The sale of Radja Nainggolan to Inter was a tough pill for Roma to swallow in 2018, but the club tried to soften the blow by taking two players in the opposite direction.
There wasn’t much enthusiasm for either Davide Santon or Nicolo Zaniolo, but the latter in particular soon gave fans something new to dream about.
Santon spent three seasons at Roma before retiring due to physical problems, while Zaniolo’s spell with the club lasted for four-and-a-half years and included 24 goals, making him Monchi’s best signing (somewhat inadvertently).
2017 – Pellegrini/Defrel
When Roma appointed Eusebio Di Francesco as their head coach in the summer of 2017, the former Scudetto-winning midfielder wanted to bring some players from Sassuolo with him.
Securing the return of Lorenzo Pellegrini was simple thanks to a buyback clause, while Roma also managed to negotiate a deal to bring in Gregoire Defrel at Di Francesco’s request.
Contrasting fates were in store for the pair; academy graduate Pellegrini eventually became Roma’s first-team captain, whereas striker Defrel never scored in open play for Roma.
2012 – Dodo/Castan
Roma have taken several players from South America across the years, and in the summer of 2012 they managed to lure Brazilian pair Dodo and Leandro Castan to Europe for the first time.
Left-back Dodo was followed by his centre-back teammate from Corinthians in July to reinforce the squad Zdenek Zeman was inheriting.
Dodo went on to make 15 appearances in his debut season, whereas Castan played 34 times and would become even more important under Rudi Garcia the following year.
But in 2014, Dodo was sold to Inter and Castan suffered a serious brain injury, which would take him a long time to recover from.
2012 – Destro/Tachtsidis
July 2012 also saw another double signing, with Mattia Destro and Panagiotis Tachtsidis joining from fellow Serie A side Genoa.
Tachtsidis signed on a permanent basis, while Destro joined on loan. The former struggled to win his new fans over, though, while competing for a place with Daniele De Rossi.
Destro fared better, hitting double figures of goals and earning a permanent transfer the following summer, which coincidentally included Tachtsidis going back to Genoa as a counterweight.
1994 – Thern/Fonseca
Strengthening their squad for Carlo Mazzone’s second season in charge, Roma looked south, bringing Jonas Thern and Daniel Fonseca in from Napoli.
Thern won a bronze medal with Sweden at that summer’s World Cup, while Fonseca was an established Uruguay international.
Both players spent three seasons in Rome, with Fonseca finishing up with the number 10 shirt, making him the direct predecessor to Francesco Totti in that regard.
1990 – Carboni/Salsano
After finishing one place beneath Sampdoria in the 1989-90 Serie A table, Roma took the opportunity that summer to lure Amedeo Carboni and Fausto Salsano from Genova to the capital.
Salsano went on to score in the season opener against Fiorentina on his debut, which was a 4-0 win after Rudi Voller put Roma ahead and Salsano’s fellow new boy Andrea Carnevale scored a brace.
The midfielder spent three seasons with Roma, while Carboni, a left-back, lasted for seven before joining Valencia.
By the end of their debut season, Roma were lifting the Coppa Italia trophy aloft after beating their former employers, Sampdoria, in the two-legged final.
1989 – Cervone/Berthold
Giovanni Cervone had been at Hellas Verona for just a season, and Thomas Berthold for two, when Roma bought them both in the summer of 1989.
Both quickly established their importance to the club; only Ruggiero Rizzitelli made more appearances than defender Berthold in the 1989-90 season, while Cervone established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper and the heir to Scudetto winner, Franco Tancredi.
In the summer of 1990, Berthold – along with Roma teammate Rudi Voller – became a World Cup winner with West Germany on Italian soil. He would only spend one more season in Italy after that, whereas Cervone remained at Roma until 1997.
1968 – Bet/Santarini
Roma were welcoming a well-renowned coach when they appointed Helenio Herrera in 1968 – and a variety of players came with him from Inter.
Victor Benitez returned for a second spell at the club and ex-Lazio attacker Vito D’Amato became one of the few players in history to have represented both Rome rivals, but perhaps the two most significant imports from Inter were defensive duo Sergio Santarini and Aldo Bet.
Roma won the Coppa Italia in Herrera’s first season in charge, in which Bet was phased in gradually but Santarini played frequently. Over the next few years, their association would continue.
Bet spent half a decade with Roma before leaving, while Santarini went on to become club captain. His spell with Roma lasted until 1981, making him one of their longest-serving players and one of the few to have made appearances for the club in three different decades.
1933 – Guaita/Scopelli
In 1934, Enrique Guaita became a World Cup winner with Italy, but he was actually Argentine-born. It was Roma to bring him to Italy in 1933, alongside Alejandro Scopelli, who similarly became a naturalised Italian.
Both players were signed from Estudiantes, earning their first tastes of European football. It took them very little time to adapt; by the end of the 1933-34 season, Guaita was Roma’s top scorer and Scopelli was second.
Roma had the same one-two at the top of their goalscoring chart the following season, in which they improved their league standing from fifth to fourth.
However, that was to be that for Guaita and Scopelli at Roma. Two days before the 1935-36 season was due to start, they fled Italy in fear of a military call-up. Despite the turbulence, Roma finished one point off top spot in their first season without the Argentine duo.
Nevertheless, Guaita still possesses the best goals-to-games ratio of any Roma player with a substantial amount of appearances.
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