Nicola Zalewski professes love for the Giallorossi: “I’m a Romanista.” | OneFootball

Roma winger Nicola Zalewski professed love for his boyhood club despite having faced a lot of backlash recently.

With his contract set to expire next year and no renewal in sight, Zalewski discussed his growth at Roma over the years in a recent interview with the Polish news portal Goal during international duty with Poland.

“If I’m here with Poland it’s also because I’ve always had coaches like Mourinho, De Rossi, Juric who believed in me and helped me get here.”

“In the summer I was very close to Galatasaray and then to PSV. I analyzed everything and made the decision that seemed best to me, to stay in Rome,” he added.

“I am a Romanista, I never thought about whether it would be better to leave Roma at that moment or at the end of my contract. I’m young, the most important thing for me is to play and I wanted to do it in Rome.”

“I was surprised when Roma excluded me following my rejection of Galatasaray, but now it’s water under the bridge,” he added.

“Mourinho? He was really supportive. He was very important for my career.”

“He allowed me to play in the first team, but I could count on him not only for football: he was very close to me when my father died.”

“Whenever I have the opportunity, I will gladly thank him. I wish all coaches had his personality.”