Roma failed to reach their objectives in the 2023-24 season as a collective after some extremely varied efforts by the members of their squad.
Coming sixth for the third season running was not how Roma would have envisaged their ideal 2023-24 ending. Moreover, the Europa League route couldn’t lead Roma back into the Champions League either, as they were eliminated in the semi-final.
Most notably, this season was the one in which Roma made the bold decision to sack Jose Mourinho when his side were devoid of inspiration and replace him with Daniele De Rossi, who restored some optimism but also found himself hampered by some underwhelming performances by his players.
So who could hold their heads high from their individual performances in 2023-24, and which Roma players were instead the culprits for their disappointing season?
Here, Giallorossi Yorkshire rates each player out of 10 for their season.
Mile Svilar – 8
Backup keeper at the start of the season, first choice by the end of it – and a convincing one at that. Giving Roma more security, he was a hidden gem. Had he played all season, and at that level, his score could have been even higher.
Rui Patricio – 5
Time finally caught up with the experienced but error-prone keeper (never as bad as his biggest detractors insisted but perhaps their point is now proven) in the final year of his contract, though he dealt well with his demotion and supported Svilar fairly.
Zeki Celik – 5.5
Showed some slight signs of improvement under De Rossi, but not enough to be considered a candidate to start next season. Nevertheless, could also claim he wasn’t Roma’s worst right-back (not that that took much).
Rick Karsdorp – 4
May have played his way into an exit from the club due to his sometimes catastrophic mistakes. In fact his mistakes are never minor. In a debate for being Roma’s worst right-back.
Rasmus Kristensen – 4
An eyebrow-raising loan signing who despite having a bit of character struggled to showcase some footballing basics. In a debate for being Roma’s worst right-back.
Gianluca Mancini – 8
A reputation-enforcing campaign from Roma’s vice-captain and one of their most-used players. Committed to the cause at all times and an authority at the back who earned admiration from his fans and even his previous doubters.
Chris Smalling – 4.5
Sadly, a season to be forgotten for the English defensive rock, who was often injured and rarely his dominant self when available. If this is the end of his Roma career, hopefully this season won’t be the lasting memory of it.
Evan Ndicka – 6
Bit of a strange one, this. A signing there was competition for, but he took some time to adapt before beginning to look more comfortable. His season was most memorable for his health scare against Udinese, which thankfully wasn’t as threatening as feared. Since then the gratefulness of him being healthy has made it hard to judge him technically, but he completed the season calmly enough.
Diego Llorente – 7
Welcomed back with open arms for a second loan spell from Leeds and took on more responsibility in the first part of the season. A quiet leader who had some standout games but mainly just got on with his business at the back. Would be worthy of a permanent stay at the right price.
Dean Huijsen – 5.5
Endured a rollercoaster of a loan spell after arriving with limited fanfare from Juventus. Settled in relatively smoothly and scored a couple of good goals, but also made some mistakes at his end of the pitch in defence. It’s easy to forget how young he still is, but also hard to predict his potential.
Leonardo Spinazzola – 6
Probably his last season at Roma. It didn’t get off to the best of starts but he stuck it out and began to look more like himself towards the end, though not to an extent that would fully convince the club about a new deal.
Angelino – 6.5
A sensible loan addition for the second half of the season and a player it seems sensible to be keeping. Rarely the best on the pitch, but got by and offered something different at left-back.
Leandro Paredes – 8
Brought back for a second spell with mixed expectations and certainly a different type of player to the one he replaced (Nemanja Matic) but quickly became important, even vital. One of those whose usual influence would become clear in his absence, as no one else in midfield could break it up like him. Even stepped up to score some penalties too. Fairly fundamental.
Bryan Cristante – 7
A tiresome end to the season but that was to be expected of Roma’s most-used player and the only one to surpass 50 appearances, who earlier in the campaign continued his form from a stronger end to the previous season. Unsurprisingly given their previous relationship, De Rossi is the latest Roma coach to consider Cristante a cornerstone.
Lorenzo Pellegrini – 6.5
Sadly a stop-start season for the captain, who still managed to reach double figures of goals (for the third time in the past four seasons) but encountered some consistency issues. Improved when reunited with his former teammate De Rossi though, especially in the final third.
Edoardo Bove – 6
Popular under Mourinho, less so under De Rossi. A hard worker but a player needing to develop some more definable traits at this stage of his career, or else he could find himself at a crossroads. Certainly nowhere near being the worst of the lot, though, and can hold his head high enough.
Houssem Aouar – 5
Made an early impression but struggled for consistency thereafter, not helped by injuries that limited him to involvement in fewer than half of Roma’s league games, but his ratios when available were respectable. With arguments either side, whether he’s salvageable or not is one of the biggest dilemmas the club will have to solve this summer.
Renato Sanches – 3
Do you remember that time he lasted for more than half of a Serie A game? No? That’s because it never happened. A shame, but one of the least reliable players in terms of availability and a wasted year for all parties.
Paulo Dybala – 8
Roma’s best player by a mile in his first season and still influential in his second, although his injuries made it feel a bit more stop-start this time (even though his appearance tally was actually one greater). With double figures of goals and assists across all competitions, not to mention three Serie A Player of the Month awards, he shouldn’t be taken for granted. Hopefully this wasn’t his final Roma season, because his quality is often transcendent.
Tommaso Baldanzi – 6
Rejoice! Roma can spend money on signings again. Will Baldanzi be worth what they’ve invested? It’s a bit too early to say after his first six months but the attacking-midfield understudy seems willing to work. Patience will be needed.
Stephan El Shaarawy – 7
Believe it or not, that was actually El Shaarawy’s busiest ever season in terms of appearances made. Of his 48 appearances, 31 were starts, as he proved this second chapter of his Roma career isn’t just a journey of reminiscence. Only scored three goals, but got nine assists and worked hard as always, particularly enjoying his return to a more attacking role under De Rossi.
Nicola Zalewski – 4
He might be a lost cause, mightn’t he? Even though De Rossi’s arrival meant he could now play further forward again, Zalewski struggled for confidence and may have run himself to the end of his Roma career. His decision-making often let him down and now it is Roma who face a big decision about him.
Romelu Lukaku – 7
Big name. Big expectations. All things considered, after an underwhelming 2022-23 with Inter and then no pre-season, Lukaku can be content with his loan spell at Roma. Breaking the 20-goal barrier was no mean feat. Could he have had more influence? Yes. Has he had better seasons elsewhere? Yes. But Roma could’ve been a lot worse off without him.
Sardar Azmoun – 6
Roma’s other attacking loanee had to be patient for his first start, which didn’t come until February. He worked hard and was forward-thinking, getting a handful of goals – including a bullet header that opened his account – but lacked a bit of cutting-edge quality. Probably not valuable enough to be worth what Roma could buy him for.
Tammy Abraham – 4
Not to be too harsh on Abraham, for whom expectations shouldn’t have been immediately high after his long-awaited return from injury, but he was routinely missing chances again when he got back towards the end of the season. He can only hope he was getting it out of his system as he prepares to recharge for next season, but will that be with Roma still?
Andrea Belotti – 5
Left on loan halfway through the season but included here for his considerable number of appearances before. Started enthusiastically with an opening-day brace against Salernitana, but continued to struggle to have a meaningful impact against better teams.
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