Former Roma and current Al-Duhail defender Medhi Benatia was interviewed today by Teleradiostereo and revealed he was asked to return to Roma this summer by former sporting director Ricky Massara, who is now the sporting director of Milan. These are his words:
Did you watch Roma yesterday?
Yes, of course I watched. From an attacking standpoint, there was so much quality, Dzeko was great. Unfortunately, conceding three goals at home makes things difficult. But Fonseca needs time: I’m sure they’ll do great things.
Roma has been looking for a defender for two months. Did someone call you by chance during this time?
No, the last contact I had was with Ricky Massara, who asked me how I was in Qatar. Roma will always remain a place where I always lived well. When Ricky called me, I thought about it, then he left Roma and I stayed in Qatar, where I’m doing fine.
Did Massara contact you when he took over from Monchi?
I was contacted in January – Massara asked me to stay in Italy. For him, my story with Roma wasn’t over. But I didn’t feel like staying another 6 months at Juventus and hardly playing. So I explored my options in England and Qatar and decided on the latter. Then Massara asked me about my availability again in June but then he left Roma for Milan.
