Florenzi 'very proud' to continue adventure at boyhood club

After much speculation about his future, on Wednesday it was announced that the 27-year-old had signed a five-year contract extension with the club.

“Today is definitely a happy day for me. It’s an important day,” Florenzi said. “I would like to thank all the fans that are happy like I am with this renewal today. I would like to hug all of them.

“I know there are also fans that are perhaps a less certain, perhaps because of the performances I put in last season, and I will try to win them around. This is my aim.

“I am very proud, very pleased to be able to continue to wear this shirt and represent this city.”

Sitting alongside Florenzi, club sporting director Monchi underlined his pleasure at being able to bring a positive conclusion to talks that had been going on for some time.

“This is one of the happiest days in my 15 months at Roma so far,” the Spaniard added. “Not just as a sporting director, but as a person and a fan of Roma. One of Roma’s sons has renewed his contract and will stay here at least five years.

"I say it is happy moment because I don’t know how long I will be at Roma, but I hope to one day be a Romanista like he is.

“This was not a short negotiation, but I think from the first moment we all were confident that it would end well. Because Alessandro wanted to stay here. I think he is an example as a professional and a Romanista."

Florenzi echoed that statement, saying that, with his future now confirmed, he hoped to play a key role as a leader within the playing squad.

“I want to be, above all, an example for the players that we have now and in the future,” he said. “This year we have brought in a lot of players too. Obviously we have the captain, Daniele, and he leads by example – and I want to offer that too.”

Florenzi is now looking forward to kicking on into the next phase of his career.

“I think that improving, that learning, never ends,” Florenzi said. “I have grown a lot here already. I was a kid with a dream, and I have grown into what I wanted to be – a man wearing the shirt of the club. I had a great year at Crotone, where I grew into a man. Everyone I have come into contact with, from coaches and players, has helped me grow.

“Here it is not just about the money for me. There is the pride, there is the passion and the emotion of the representing the club. So it is about weighing things up. Staying here was always the aim for me.

“We will see today how the fans will react. On my part I am calm, because I know what I have given and can continue to give for Roma.”

Monchi admitted that he was pleased to retain one of the club’s true Romans – a core part of the team and the club.

“It is very important to have guys like this,” Monchi said. “These are players that understand what Roma is, that know what the club means.

"Roma is different, it is difficult to understand that from outside but it is a huge club, a huge institution. It is easier, perhaps, for guys like Daniele and Alessandro to explain that to the other guys. It’s better.”