Roma have confirmed that Paulo Fonseca will leave the club at the end of the season.
The Portuguese coach is out of contract in June, and a string of poor results – especially in big games – means that deal will not be extended.
Fonseca has been in charge of Roma since the beginning of the 2019-20 season. He led the club to a fifth-place finish in his first season and was hoping to break into the top four this term.
There were some signs of progress and Roma occupied that territory for large parts of the season. However, recent performances led to the side suffering an alarming slide down the table again. Now, there is a genuine risk that the club could miss out on European football altogether next season.
Therefore, after meetings between the two parties on Monday, in which Fonseca reportedly refused to resign, Roma have decided to move on without the 48-year-old. However, they will allow him to see out the season rather than replacing him with an interim boss.
The decision comes in the wake of a three-match losing run, part of a longer spell of six games without a win. Most recently, Roma were embarrassed with a 6-2 loss to Manchester United in the Europa League semi-final first leg, all but ending Fonseca’s hopes of a trophy, and then limped to a 2-0 defeat to a Sampdoria side coached by his predecessor Claudio Ranieri.
Those games highlighted one of the biggest problems Fonseca has had to deal with – injuries to key players. However, the performances even without those important stars have not been anywhere near the required standard.
Fonseca ran close to the sack on several occasions before but ultimately avoided that fate. He will fulfil his contract but Roma will start afresh in the summer.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk boss gave the following message to the club website: “Over these last two years we have experienced a number of highs and lows, but I have always given my all for this club and this city – a city that has always been so welcoming.
“I would like to thank the Roma fans, everyone we have worked with at Trigoria, the players, and all those who have helped us during this journey – in particular Dan and Ryan Friedkin, for their continuous support since they arrived, and Tiago Pinto, an incredible professional, whom I wish the best as he continues his work for the club.
“We still have some very important games in front of us this season that we want to win, and we will continue to give our all in order to do so.”
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