If Sport Witness’ reporting on Everton’s owners the Friedkins in recent months has established one thing, it is that the Americans are a little cold towards their football clubs.
It’s been well established by now that the American group prefer a hands-off approach to football investment – at least when it comes to Everton.
We’ve detailed various instances of them giving Everton the cold shoulder since their arrival on Merseyside. The fact that they have never even visited the Hill Dickinson Stadium is testament to that.
Roma tend to get better treatment, especially now that they’re back in the Champions League. The Italian side are very much the favoured child for the Friedkins, even if they do get the cold treatment from time to time as well.
Gasperini wants change
That’s something Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini has noticed. And it seems he’s less than impressed with it, despite having a positive relationship with his bosses in general.
“It’s a different relationship compared to the one I had with the Percassi family; they were there with the team and with me on a daily basis,” he told Corriere dello Sport, with his words in Tuesday’s print edition.
“That doesn’t happen with the Friedkin family, yet I always feel their trust and support, even though they live far away and rarely come to Rome.
“Now they’ve appointed a new CEO, John Galantic, who acts as a slightly closer link between Roma and them.”
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More Friedkins
Gasperini then ‘made no secret’ of his desire to see the owners more often. He feels that their presence can ‘tip the scales’, as it did last season.
Corriere say that Ryan Friedkin’s presence in Trigoria last year provided the decisive push to sign Donyell Malen. He was also an integral part of the group during their ‘comeback’ to secure Champions League football.
Now it seems that Gasperini wants more of that on a regular basis.
“My goal remains clear: to get them much more involved,” he continued.
“Not so much for my own sake, since I can still do my job and do it well, but for their benefit, and likely for the fans and the city as well.
“I believe it is one of my objectives to restore a closer relationship and a greater sense of presence, especially with the centenary and the construction of the new stadium—where they will be investing significant sums—on the horizon.
“I would like to bring them even closer to the team.”
