The Serbian will face his historic rivals from Benfica, his former team, and hopes for a great performance to permanently close the renewal chapter.

For Roma, the challenge with Porto represents one of the most significant turning points of the season. A positive result would allow the Giallorossi to solidify their move to the next round in the return match at the Olimpico scheduled for 9 days time. For some, however, this game goes beyond the mere result. This is the case for Mile Svilar, who wore the Benfica jersey, the historic rivals of the “Dragons,” for 5 years. The Roma goalkeeper faced them only once with the first team in an unfortunate previous encounter: a 3-1 defeat in the semifinals of the Taca da Liga (Portugal’s League Cup). A bitter pill, hard to swallow for a young man of only 20 years old who was trying to carve out his space among the greats. With the buying campaign closed, Ghisolfi and the property will have to focus on issues concerning the future, and the Belgian goalkeeper’s contract is at the top of the list. Having arrived in the summer of 2022 as a free agent from Benfica, Svilar currently earns “only” one million euros a year. Less of Shomurodov, Celik, and Abullhamid (to name a few). In recent months, several Premier League clubs have knocked on the doors of Trigoria asking for information but without making a decisive move. However, it’s not excluded that they might do it again, with even more determination this summer. His desire is to stay in yellow and red, and he’s made this emphatically clear: “There’s still time to talk, and we will meet soon with the management because I feel really good in Rome, with the group, the team, the fans, the city. “I hope to be here for a long time” This is also the wish of Ranieri, who has already advised the club: “As a coach and adviser, I suggested that they come to an agreement and settle the issue as soon as possible. “It’s important that the kids remain calm and know that the society relies on them,” but be careful not to push them too hard. Time is on their side, the deadline is in June 2027, but without an increase (upwards), Svilar could accept the courtship of any other club as early as next January. In this case, Roma would lose an asset and a clear profit. Everything is in the hands of Ghisolfi who must try to meet the expectations of the fans and players but will have to contend with Financial Fair Play.