Roma Weigh Full Reset Against Measured Rebuild—What Each Plan Could Look Like

Roma's head coach Gian Piero Gasperini looks on before the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and AS Roma at San Siro stadium in Milan, on April 5, 2026. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images While your typical football club can’t match the sheer depth of an NFL roster, where nearly 50 players suit up every Sunday, among the two dozen or so men lucky enough to don the giallo e rosso each season, there is tremendous variety: in roles, attitudes, skills, and potential. From virtuosos to role players and those we simply forgot about, Roma has employed every type of player under the sun.

And as foolhardy as it may have been, we’ve intermittently attempted to weigh and measure Roma’s roster, separating the core components from the redundancies. We wanted to make it a part of our annual tentpole features, but never managed to get the timing quite right—we either had to do it before the summer transfer season, which would make the rankings potentially irrelevant as players were bought and sold, or at the start of the season before they had a chance to prove themselves. (Just for kicks, here is the most recent version from 2023 .

In retrospect, I was a bit too high on Ola Solbakken. ) Since the club is currently divided on whether to completely rebuild or simply add a few new pieces and chug along, it would be nearly impossible to rank and file Roma’s roster. So, instead of banging our heads against that wall, we’ll look at the two rumored plans: The Full Friedkin Tear-Down and Gasperini’s Gradual Rebuild, to assess which is more realistic.

These strategies aren’t entirely opposite, but since they reportedly pit ownership, the board, and the manager—leaving Ricky Massara caught in the middle—Roma is a potential powder keg. Option 1: The Full Friedkin Teardown While the Friedkins prefer to move in silence ( like real Gs ), Roma’s embarrassing loss to Inter Milan on Easter Sunday seemed to stir something within the taciturn Texans. Losing to Inter Milan on the road is nothing new for Roma, but failing as they did—so completely and so feebly—didn’t reveal any new issues for the club.