It’s the end of an era as Chris Smalling has left Roma to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Fayha.
Smalling spent five years at Roma, initially joining on loan from Manchester United and then sealing a permanent move thanks to the way he exceeded all expectations during his debut campaign, in which he was chosen as the Giallorossi Yorkshire player of the season.
A rock at the back, Smalling was one of Roma’s most reliable defenders in recent memory and goes down as their best ever English player.
Smalling played a fundamental part in Roma winning the Europa Conference League in 2022, picking up the player of the match award in the final.
Sadly, Smalling’s Roma career sometimes stagnated due to injuries, which mainly affected him in his second and fifth seasons with the club.
His journey with Roma has now come to an end after 155 appearances. Smalling scored 10 times for the club.
Roma are left with Evan Ndicka, Gianluca Mancini and new signing Mario Hermoso as their sole senior centre-back options.
Thanks for everything, Chris.
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