- Wesley felt Roma were ‘crazy’ to spend €20m on him
- Felt he was forced out by Brazilian club Flamengo
- Speaks about Gasperini’s crucial role in Italy move
Wesley joined Italian side Roma from Flamengo in the summer for €20m (£17m/$23m), fending off interest from Serie A rivals Juventus. Despite not being a regular starter at Flamengo, he admitted he initially felt Roma were overpaying, believing he wasn’t yet at that level.
“When the €20 million offer arrived and I wasn’t even playing, I thought: these guys are crazy,” he said in an interview with TNT Sports. “€20 million and I’m not even playing, and when I was playing I would miss a pass in front of the cameras. So I asked myself: how can they pay €20 million for me?”
Wesley had flirted with a move to Atalanta last year, but nothing materialised. When Gian Piero Gasperini returned for him in the summer after taking over as Roma coach, it helped convince the Brazilian to make the move.
“When I saw Gasperini had gone to Roma, I thought: ‘Wow, he really wants me.’ So everything went well,” he added. “Once I got there, even the coach surprised me with the way he’s making me work. I hope to improve a lot, but obviously it will take time: I won’t become Dani Alves overnight, it’s impossible. I feel like when a coach wants a player so badly, that means a lot. He called me, he talked to me. There were other offers, but a coach who already wanted you last year, then changes teams and wants you again… that weighed heavily. I just hope to grow with him, like all the players he had at Atalanta.”
Wesley says things had turned sour for him at Flamengo, but that the situation changed after Chelsea legend Filipe Luis took over as head coach.
“At first, it was difficult.I couldn’t deliver what the coach asked. I tried, but it didn’t work. I wasn’t affected by the internet; it never will be affected by it,” he said.
“In 2024, halfway through the year, I wasn’t doing well at all. After theFIFA International Day, which I didn’t go to, I had 10 games and I was ruined. So, they started asking me to be on the Brazilian national team. Then, Filipe Luísarrived. Filipe Luís’ arrivalchanged everything. For theCopa do Brasil match against Corinthians,he said I would play. Thank God, everything happened. I just have to thank the entireFlamengofan base for their support.”
In the end, though, he felt he was forced out of the club as Flamengo received a very generous offer from Roma, saying: “It was no longer possible to stay, I wasn’t well and nobody wanted me.”
Wesley has hit the ground running in Rome, starting both of Roma’s opening fixtures and netting the winning goal against Bologna. He will be hoping to repay the faith Gian Piero Gasperini has shown in him.
Additional reporting by Alessandro De Felice.
