Mancini relishing Roma’s Champions League return

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Gianluca Mancini is relishing the chance to make his Champions League debut next season after Roma qualified for the competition for the first time in eight years.

Roma qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 2017–18 season, with Eusebio Di Francesco at the helm – and for the first time since then (77), the Giallorossi also surpassed 70 total points in a Serie A season (73), finishing third.

They secured their place in UEFA’s premier competition with a 2-0 victory over Verona on the final day of the season.

During their last Champions League season in 2018-19, they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Porto, a year after reaching the semi-finals.

Roma’s best Champions League campaign came in 1983-84, when they progressed to the final before losing to Liverpool on penalties at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Mancini, who joined Roma ahead of the 2019-20 season, is yet to play in the Champions League, and he is excited to make his debut.

“After the match in Verona [final day], embracing [Bryan] Cristante, I thought about it,” Mancini told Sky Sport.

Gian Piero Gasperini always believed that Roma could return to the Champions League 

 We’ve put together the most important milestones of this feat, one year after his first press conference
https://t.co/J7qMqEBHys #ASRoma pic.twitter.com/JN4y55hDHA

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) June 17, 2026

“I imagined the stadiums, a little tune I have never heard in my career. It is beautiful even just to imagine it, I cannot wait to play in the competition.”

Mancini has played 319 across all competitions for Roma, helping keep 100 clean sheets while directly contributing to 34 goals (23 goals, 11 assists).

Roma have qualified for European competition for the 13th consecutive season: during this period, the Giallorossi have reached the Champions League six times, the Europa League six times, and the Conference League once.

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