De Rossi: Incredibly proud to captain this side

The Giallorossi exited the competition at the semi-final stage with a 7-6 aggregate defeat to Liverpool, despite winning 4-2 at the Stadio Olimpico in a frantic second leg.

Afterwards, De Rossi was determined to look at the positive aspects of an incredible European run.

“I thanked the players afterwards. I'm so proud of all of them," De Rossi said.

""If we want to make this amazing Champions League run even more memorable, we must make sure we get back in the competition by finishing in the top four. And we need to believe it's a competition we can win – because we've seen that we're not far behind the other teams.

"Given how big a club Roma is, reaching the Champions League semi-finals should be something we do once every three years, not once every 30.

“I'm proud of my team-mates and so very proud of the fans who were here today – and who have always been behind us. It was the sort of atmosphere I hadn't seen for years, since I was a kid, like in those games against Brondby and Slavia Prague. They may not have brought us a trophy but I've never forgotten them.

"On nights like this you sense the pride, the love, the very essence of being Roman. That's something we have to build on now.”

Is this team aware of its ability?

“We are aware of it, yes. You can see that because we came through a quarter-final where lots of people thought we should have focused on saving face. And instead we went out there utterly convinced that we could go though.

"We did the same thing today: we played the way we said we wanted to before the game. Really and truly believing and not giving up for 90 minutes. It's a mentality that was forged by the club, the coach – who always believed more than anyone – and the team.

“Now we must make sure we keep the core of this side together, with great players, experienced players, gutsy players, and keep dreaming. The same goes in the league because a team like ours shouldn't be 20 points off the pace.”