Roma CEO Lina Souloukou attended today’s Europa League draw in Monaco.
Following the draw which saw Roma picked as part of Group G with the likes of Sheriff, Servette and Slavia Prague, the Greek executive shared her thoughts in an interview with Sky Sport.
“We must not underestimate our opponents, the level of the Europa League is very competitive, so the group stage is an important stage for every club including us,” said Souloukou.
“We are aware of the value of our squad, our coach, and our roster. Based on Roma’s results in Europe in the last years, obviously, the expectation is to reach the end of the competition.”
Souloukou was also asked to assess her first three months at the club following her appointment earlier in the summer.
She stated, “I arrived three months ago, therefore perhaps it’s a little too early to make an assessment, but the situation I found was very positive. Having worked for many years in football, I knew the passion of the Romanisti well.”
Adding, “Living it close up in the city, at the stadium and also at the airport – we watched the images of Romelu’s landing – is truly something incredible. Working in an environment that has such a deep love is an honor and a responsibility at the same time because we are aware of the importance the squad has for the fans’ lives.”
She also weighed in on the settlement agreement Roma reached with UEFA after it was deemed they violated Financial Fair Play rules related to the “breakeven” requirement.
“First of all, I would like to underline the importance of the owners’ contribution and presence in this project, an ownership that has a strong ambition and that at the same time is in continuous growth,” she said.
“It’s a really important thing for all of us who are continuously working to make this ambition a reality. The owners invested a lot to build a good team not only on the pitch but also off it. The truth is that I feel very proud to Work for and with both the sporting and corporate sides.”
“As for the stadium and the UEFA issue, they are different institutional paths. Yes, they are indeed intertwined in their timeframes, but they are different things.”
“Having an owned stadium is really important, it’s one of the pillars of the sports project: no club can have the ambition of establishing itself at the top without having its own home.”
She continued, “At the same time, we are pursuing the path with UEFA, which provides for some restrictions that we must respect, but it’s a path aligned with the financial sustainability rules in the football world.”
“However, even this path that we must respect hasn’t prevented the ownership’s ambition from coming true so far: the latest concrete proof, precisely the latest, is Lukaku’s arrival. A clear example of how the ownership, year after year, is making Roma even more competitive.”
