Aston Villa midfielder Nicolò Zaniolo has admitted he has regrets about his departure from former club Roma, insisting the matter could have been handled much differently.
The Italian has been speaking to La Repubblica regarding his departure from Rome, which was a contentious and fractured one in February last year.
Zaniolo had been with the Serie A side since 2018, when he arrived in a €6.75m deal from Inter Milan that summer.
He quickly established himself as one of the rising starts in Italy after that, with many believing he would be the heart of the Italian team moving forwards.
His exit from Rome was not a happy one, with a very public falling out with the club, it’s management and the fans. That saw him seek refuge in Turkey and bring his association to the club, which many had believed would be a long and happy one, to an end.
He’s now at Aston Villa but that doesn’t stop people, this time Repubblica, from asking what went wrong at his former club.
“I won’t name any names, I don’t like media wars,” he said, in comments relayed by Tuttomercatoweb.
“But at Roma things could have ended differently: I feel great love for the fans, my teammates, the team, the city, and them towards me. It’s a disappointment that I felt.
“I have responsibilities, but also other people. When there are messes like this it means that we all put in our place. But I don’t want to talk about the past, now I’m in the Premier League and I’m thinking about the future.”
