Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches was welcomed as Roma’s latest signing earlier today.
Sanches discussed his decision to join Roma on loan from PSG in his first interview with Roma TV.
“I feel good and I’m happy to be here in this great Italian club. The fans gave me a really great welcome and I feel very motivated to be here,” said the 25-year-old.
“Roma is a great Italian club and I spoke to both the coach and the sporting director before coming here. There’s a very fascinating project here and I think this could be a great opportunity for both me and the club. I think that Roma is the right club for me right now.”
“I have known [General Manager] Tiago Pinto for a long time, since my days at Benfica, we have kept in touch and have always been friends. As I said before, a great opportunity to move to Roma presented itself. We talked and, I repeat, the project is very fascinating. I decided to come here because I think it’s the right time.”
“Mourinho? I’ve already spoken to him, we even spoke on the phone before I signed. I’m Portuguese like Mourinho and I think he’s a reference for all Portuguese youngsters because he’s a coach who has won many titles. I think any player would like to be coached by Mourinho and when someone like him trusts a player, you’re automatically motivated.”
“Coincidentally, I used to watch Roma games in the past. I watch the Conference final and the Europa League final because there are Portuguese players at the club, people I’ve worked with before. I think we can repeat ourselves this year because the project is always aimed at winning. This year we want to repeat what Roma have done in recent years.”
“I haven’t played in the last few weeks, but I feel ready and the first game is less than a week away. I prepared myself in the best possible way to be physically fit and play all the necessary minutes.”