Stephan El Shaarawy stated that he was close to moving to Roma in January in attempt to gain a place in Italy’s Euro 2020 team.
“There was the chance of moving back to Italy.” El Shaarawy told Fabio Cannavaro on Sunday during an Instagram Live chat. “When the virus broke out, I talked to the club stating that I had to play to win a place in the European Championship.”
El Shaarawy, who quit Roma last year for Shanghai Shenhua, was closely linked to a return but no transfer was made: “I had always had great support from Italy coach Roberto Mancini after my transfer to China, and I was ready to come back and play regularly, but instead nothing was achieved.”
El Shaarawy transferred from Roma to the Chinese Super League (CSL) club in the summer for a €16 million (£14m/$18 m) fee reportedly. The attacker said he was prepared to return with interest from two Series A clubs.
