Roma have enjoyed some high-scoring seasons in recent years, and others less so.
The passing of the club’s ownership from James Pallotta to the Friedkin Group recently signified the end of an era. But which players scored the most goals during Pallotta’s time as club president?
The player at the top of this list is unlikely to come as a surprise, but read on to find out who got the most goals for Roma in the last eight years.
10. Gervinho – 26
Embed from Getty ImagesSigned from Arsenal in 2013, Gervinho was reunited with his former coach at Lille, Rudi Garcia, who had just been appointed as Roma boss.
Garcia became the longest-serving Roma coach under Pallotta, and Gervinho’s timeline was almost identical. The Ivory Coast winger left mere weeks after Garcia’s departure in January 2016.
By that point, Gervinho had scored 12 goals in his first season, and seven in his other two (even though his last one ended halfway through).
While he wasn’t always consistent, his form since returning to Italy with Parma two years ago suggests he could have still got more goals in Rome had he stayed.
9. Miralem Pjanic – 27
Embed from Getty ImagesThree of Miralem Pjanic’s 30 goals for Roma came in his first season at the club – the year before Pallotta became president. Each of his four campaigns after were more prolific.
In his final year in Rome, Pjanic even reached double figures, scoring 12 goals in all competitions. It was an impressive record for a midfielder; only Mohamed Salah scored more for the club that season.
It was in that season when Pjanic really enhanced his reputation as a great free kick taker. He scored from set pieces against the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus – the club he would join that summer.
Leaving Juventus for Barcelona this year having scored 22 times in Turin, Roma remain the club for whom Pjanic has netted the most goals.
8. Alessandro Florenzi – 28
Embed from Getty ImagesRoma’s most-used player of the Pallotta era, and one who carried on the tradition of being a homegrown captain of the club he supports, Alessandro Florenzi burst onto the scene towards the start of the decade as an exciting midfielder or winger.
As his career progressed, Florenzi dropped into a more defensive role as a right-back. However, that didn’t stop him contributing with big goals.
Florenzi famously scored an overhead kick against Genoa in 2014, a goal from just past the halfway line in a Champions League draw with Barcelona in 2015, and a volley from the edge of the box against Lazio in 2016.
Florenzi never reached double figures in a single season for Roma (he did manage it in his loan spell away from the club with Crotone in 2011-12). However, he was always capable of coming up with a goal when it was needed.
7. Mattia Destro – 29
Embed from Getty ImagesFor someone who was never really a guaranteed starter at Roma, Mattia Destro’s record of 29 goals in two-and-a-half seasons wasn’t bad at all.
The club’s top scorer in the 2013-14 season despite playing only 23 games, Destro had an efficient record with the club.
He finished his career at Roma with 29 goals from just 68 appearances. That meant he scored at a more efficient rate than club legends Vincenzo Montella, Rudi Voller, Marco Delvecchio and even Francesco Totti – just on a far smaller scale.
Destro then famously scored against Roma, while on loan from the club at AC Milan. He never returned to the capital.
6. Diego Perotti – 31
Embed from Getty ImagesNo player scored more penalties for Roma in the Pallotta era than Diego Perotti. But spot kicks account for less than half of his goals for the club.
The Argentine winger was particularly prolific towards the start of his time with the club. After making an impact following his arrival in January 2016, scoring on his home debut, Perotti went on to score nine goals in his first full season in Rome.
He fell one short of matching the same tally in 2017-18, and even managed six goals in the season just gone, despite playing much less. Admittedly, just one was from open play – but it was part of a brace against Juventus on the final day in Serie A.
Perotti has never been considered a genuine goalscoring winger, but he has come up with the goods on enough occasions to make an impression. In fact, he has more goals for Roma than all his other clubs put together.
5. Radja Nainggolan – 33
Embed from Getty ImagesSpending four-and-a-half years with Roma, Radja Nainggolan left as a cult hero in 2018, thanks in part to his ability to score wonder goals.
The Belgian midfielder loved to shoot from distance during his time in the capital. With the way he covered as much ground as possible, he frequently got into scoring positions.
Luciano Spalletti noticed his potential as a goalscorer more than any other coach, pushing him into a more advanced midfield role for the 2016-17 season. It worked to full effect, as Nainggolan scored a career-best 14 goals in all competitions – many of them spectacular.
While he wasn’t as prolific from a slightly deeper role under Eusebio Di Francesco, Nainggolan’s ability to score a rocket had forever endeared him to the Roma faithful.
4. Mohamed Salah – 34
Embed from Getty ImagesMohamed Salah only spent two seasons with Roma, but was a key player in both of them. The former Chelsea winger was a constant outlet in attack, using his pace from out wide to create danger.
With 15 goals, he was Roma’s top scorer in his first season at the club. The 19 he scored the season after – including his first career hat-trick, against Bologna – would have likely made him the same in most other campaigns, had it not been for Edin Dzeko’s record-breaking year.
Indeed, the duo worked very well alongside each other. Salah’s relationship with Dzeko ensured he got a healthy number of assists as well as goals.
By the time he left in 2018, Salah had scored as many goals for Roma as all his previous clubs put together. But he had still missed several chances, so it felt as if he could improve further – which he demonstrated with aplomb by scoring an astonishing 44 goals in his first year away from Roma, with Liverpool.
3. Francesco Totti – 38
Embed from Getty ImagesIt would be rare to find a ranking of Roma goalscorers in which Francesco Totti does not come out on top, but he was in the twilight of his career during the days of the Pallotta ownership.
That didn’t stop him contributing, though. Totti was Roma’s top scorer in the 2014-15 season, the last year in which he reached double figures. He went on to pass 300 goals for the club in his penultimate season the year after – famously inspiring Roma’s resurgence towards the end of the campaign with some vital goals from the bench. His brace against Torino in 2016 was unforgettable.
In total, just over 12% of Totti’s 307 goals for Roma came in the Pallotta era. But the captain continued to prove his importance.
The last goal of his career came in February 2017, when Roma beat Cesena in the Coppa Italia. By that point, Totti had already smashed countless records – setting new heights that will stand the test of time.
2. Stephan El Shaarawy – 40
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of the most impactful signings in recent memory, Stephan El Shaarawy’s arrival coincided with Roma’s improved fortunes in the second half of the 2015-16 season.
The Italian winger finished that half-season with eight goals in 17 games. While he never quite managed to replicate that scoring rate, he was consistently a threat in front of the net.
In his three full seasons at the club, El Shaarawy scored 12, nine and 11 goals. The last of those saw him finish as Roma’s top scorer in the league; he was pivotal that year.
El Shaarawy left Roma in 2019, having scored more goals for the Giallorossi than he had for AC Milan in his four years there.
1. Edin Dzeko – 106
Embed from Getty ImagesEdin Dzeko has been a dominant striker in his five years with Roma so far. Ever since opening his account against Juventus on just his second appearance, he has turned up on the big occasions.
His longevity has seen him continue to flourish until his current age of 34. Dzeko remains Roma’s first-choice striker, and it’s easy to see why.
When at the top of his game, the Bosnian centre-forward can be lethal. And Roma have seen him at the top of his game on plenty of occasions.
Dzeko has written himself into the history books by becoming Roma’s all-time leading foreign scorer. He was also the club’s top scorer of the 2010s, and holds the record for the most goals scored by a Roma player in a single season, thanks to his 39 strikes in the 2016-17 season.
Without a doubt, Dzeko was one of the biggest success stories of Pallotta’s reign at Roma.
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