Roma and Sevilla have a shared ambition in mind at the end of the 2022-23 season: winning the Europa League – which obviously, only one of them will be able to.
Prior to the final, there has only been one previous meeting between the two clubs – but there are a handful of players who have represented them both.
Here, in chronological order of when they played for Roma, are the eight players to have had spells with the Giallorossi and Sevilla at any time from 2000 up to the Europa League final in 2023.
Julio Baptista
Brought to Europe by Sevilla from Sao Paulo in 2003, Julio Baptista surpassed the 20-goal barrier in each of his first two seasons in Spain, subsequently earning a step up to Real Madrid. It was ultimately harder for him to make his mark there, so in 2008 he joined Roma. He hit double figures of goals in his first season, including a winner in his first Derby Della Capitale, but didn’t make the same kind of impression over the next 18 months before returning to Spain with Malaga.
Erik Lamela
Someone due to feature in the 2023 final, Erik Lamela arrived at Roma from River Plate in 2011, earning his first taste of European football. The Argentine winger spent two productive seasons in Serie A before Tottenham took him to the Premier League. After a lengthy stay there, he signed for Sevilla in 2021, going on to score the goal that took them past Juventus and into the Europa League final.
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Morgan De Sanctis
After more than a decade playing in his native Italy, Morgan De Sanctis first ventured abroad with Sevilla in 2007. However, he was a backup option there, only managing eight La Liga appearances in his first season before being loaned out to Galatasaray. A return to Italy with Napoli followed before he acted as Roma’s first-choice goalkeeper in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, and their backup to Wojciech Szczesny in 2015-16.
Seydou Keita
After commencing his career in France, Seydou Keita switched to Spanish football when Sevilla snapped him up in 2007. His sole season there earned him a move to Barcelona, where he was part of a successful era under the management of ex-Roma midfielder, Pep Guardiola. A stint in China came after before Valencia briefly took him back to La Liga, until Roma added the veteran midfielder on a free transfer in 2014 for a two-season spell.
Diego Perotti
When Sevilla signed Diego Perotti from a club in his native Argentina in 2007, he was initially assigned a space in their B team. After impressing, he stepped up to the senior side, staying there until 2014 and making more appearances for Sevilla than any other club he would represent. When his time there concluded, he came to Serie A with Genoa, stepping up to Roma 18 months later. Famed for his cool head from the penalty spot, Perotti completed four-and-a-half seasons in the capital.
Federico Fazio
Like Perotti, Fazio arrived at Sevilla from an Argentinian side and was initially a reserve-team player before getting his chance in La Liga. He was also on the books there until 2014, staying until Tottenham took him away. It didn’t work out for Fazio in England, so he had a brief spell back on loan with Sevilla before Roma took a chance on him in 2016. The defender made a good first impression, earning a permanent transfer and eventually remaining in Rome until January 2022, by which time he had begun to decline.
Maxime Gonalons
In 2017, Roma acquired the services of former Sevilla sporting director, Monchi. One of the signings in his first summer at the helm was Maxime Gonalons from Lyon, who was supposed to provide experience while competing for a place in the team with Daniele De Rossi. Unfortunately, the Frenchman was one of many Monchi signings who didn’t make an impact for Roma; he was loaned out to Sevilla after one season and after that remained in La Liga with the lower-ranking Granada.
Steven Nzonzi
Finally, the only player Monchi signed for both Sevilla and Roma was Steven Nzonzi, who went to La Liga from Stoke City in 2015. His three years there led to him becoming a World Cup winner with France, but the player Roma picked up in 2018 was a shadow of what they expected. The defensive midfielder only spent one season in Serie A before becoming hard to offload and became one of the symbols of Monchi struggling to replicate his own success from Seville to Rome.
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