'World class' Tiago Pinto to join AS Roma as General Manager, Football

Pinto, one of European football’s most accomplished operators, is the current Director of Professional Football at SL Benfica, a post he has held since 2017, before which he managed the club’s multisports division between 2012 and 2017.

In his current role as Director of Professional Football, Pinto has worked closely with Sporting Director, Portuguese and Serie A legend Manuel Rui Costa, and has been responsible for restructuring all departments within professional football at the club.

Since 2017, Benfica have won the Portuguese Primeira Liga and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira as well as regularly qualifying for the Champions League.

During this period Benfica have recruited players from within the Primeira Liga, a league forming some of the best young players in Europe, Spain’s La Liga, the Brazilian Serie A and the Argentine Primera Division, leagues which have provided some of the foremost names to have played in Serie A.

During Pinto’s time in the role, Benfica have continued their rich tradition of the development of academy players, many of whom are now playing for Europe's largest clubs.

Dan Friedkin, Chairman of AS Roma, said: “Tiago is a world class talent. In our many conversations, it was clear that his passion for his job, forward-thinking mindset, and, above all, winning mentality were consistent with the new ethos at Roma.

"We are convinced that his remarkable energy, uncompromising ethics, and track record of identifying, developing and optimising talent will help in our ambitions as we begin to prepare Roma to compete for trophies at the highest levels of Italian and European football."

Tiago Pinto commented: "I am delighted and humbled to be joining Roma at such an exciting time in the club's development. Leaving Benfica was a very tough decision, given what we have achieved together over the past eight years, but the chance to join a resurgent Roma and to contribute to that momentum under this dynamic new ownership was a professional opportunity that I could not turn down.

"I am eternally grateful to Benfica for their trust and support and also to Dan and Ryan Friedkin for giving me this opportunity at Roma to continue developing in the sport I love."

Guido Fienga, CEO of AS Roma, said: “Tiago Pinto is an outstanding choice to develop our footballing talent at Roma. Tiago is well-regarded for his holistic approach to developing a dynamic sporting department, and also for his track record of building an active pathway for players to graduate from the academy to the first team. His energy, expertise and commitment will prove invaluable in our quest to win trophies.

"There is great momentum and optimism on and off the pitch and this key appointment is testament to the exciting new approach that the Friedkins are bringing to the club.”

Tiago Pinto will join AS Roma as General Manager, Football on 1 January 2021, reporting to Dan and Ryan Friedkin and overseeing all sporting elements of the club.

Pinto is 36 years old and from the town of Peso da Régua in northern Portugal. He graduated from the University of Porto with a Bachelor’s degree in Pedagogy and a Masters in Economics & Human Resources.

Having worked from a young age across management consulting, education and academia, Pinto came to Benfica’s attention at a club General Assembly at which, as a member, he put forward his ideas on augmenting club operations to its board.

Pinto was subsequently approached by the club and was offered the opportunity to lead its multisports division. Under Pinto's leadership Benfica won over 50 national and international multisports titles in basketball, futsal, volleyball, handball and roller hockey.

At the end of the 2016-17 season, he was invited to become Director of Professional Football and tasked with applying the qualities that had brought such success at his previous role: organisation, strategic vision, a winning mentality and a results-driven high performance culture.