Arsenal and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori has admitted he wants to return to Roma at some point in his career.
Calafiori grew up in Rome, coming through their academy and making his first-team debut under Paulo Fonseca in 2020.
His senior career at the club never really took off the way he had hoped. Jose Mourinho came in, and after Roma suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Bodo Glimt in the Europa Conference League, Calafiori barely played another minute for the club.
He eventually went on loan to Genoa, and Roma sold him from there without ever giving him a proper chance to rebuild.
He ended up at Basel, then Bologna, where he rediscovered himself entirely, earned a regular Italy call-up and caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Arsenal signed him from Bologna in the summer of 2024. Speaking on the Supernova podcast, quoted by Goal, the 23-year-old was open about where his heart still lies.
“I’d like to return to Roma sooner or later. Obviously, we can’t plan our career now, but yes, I can imagine it. I left it a bit half-baked,” he said, adding that one of his unfulfilled dreams is to celebrate a goal in front of the Curva Sud.
His time at Arsenal has not been without its own difficulties. A combination of hip and muscular injuries limited him in his debut campaign at the Emirates, and this season he has had to fight hard for his place alongside Piero Hincapie, who arrived on loan from Leverkusen in September and has since nailed down the left-back spot.
Whether Roma could actually afford to bring him back is another question entirely. Arsenal are not looking to sell, and given the level of interest Calafiori attracted before he moved to north London, any club that comes for him will need to be prepared to spend a lot.
