Monchi speaks at first press conference

After being welcomed to the club by chief executive Umberto Gandini, the Spaniard answered questions from reporters on a variety of subjects.

See everything that was discussed in the transcript below.

You’re thought of in Spain as one of the best sporting directors in the world. Why did you choose to come to Roma?

"Before anything else, I’d like to say hello to everybody and apologise to all those who have sent messages to me over the last three or four months that I haven’t been able to reply to yet. At the time, I had to concentrate exclusively on my club, Sevilla, and then the process of joining Roma.

"[As for the question], I don’t think of myself as the best sporting director in the world, but someone who has had a lot of luck in their career, to which I have dedicated a lot of time and effort. It’s true that I received a lot of offers from other clubs that were certainly interesting because of their names and tradition.

"Leaving Sevilla was a difficult choice, but once I took that step I had a clear picture of what I wanted straight away. Roma are a club with huge margins for growth; there’s a strong foundation here and we’re not starting from scratch.

"My predecessors, [Walter] Sabatini and Ricky, have done a great job, but I think there’s huge potential for growth, which we should all be excited and dreaming about. There’s also another reason that I chose Roma: I spoke with Jim [president Jim Pallotta] – at this point I’d like to join Umberto’s note of thanks to him – and then I talked about it with Mauro [Baldissoni] and Ricky as well.

"I understood straight away that I could be myself here. If Roma took an interest in me, it’s because I’m Monchi and so I’m confident I can be myself here."

You’ve come here to build for the future, but in the meantime, there are four fundamental matches to play. What have you said and what will you say to the team?

"Absolutely, I completely agree. I won’t have that much influence on this campaign: I don’t have a lot of much time having joined right at the end. I’m thinking more about the future than the present. However, it’s also true that our future depends on the present and this applies to the club, the fans and everyone.

"The future is exciting: we’re trying to get second place and direct qualification into the Champions League. As for what I can do to help now, I am totally at the club’s, the squad’s and everybody’s disposal. Ever since I set foot inside this club, I’ve felt properly part of things. We shall build our future on the foundation of the present."

How can we get closer to Juventus? They seem untouchable.

"As I’ve just said, I’m here to concentrate on the future, but I’ve got an eye on the present where I can help. I know how Juventus have made it this far and where they can go. I’m ambitious by nature, I always have been, but this doesn’t mean I’m going to pull the wool over your eyes. Bridging the gap to Juventus won’t be easy, but nor is it impossible.

"In our squad right now, we’ve got great potential to narrow this gap. We must continue to work hard: it’s difficult but it’s not impossible. We can do it, especially with the foundations we have today. In the current squad, there are some excellent players for the future."

The problem of racist chanting has reared its head in Italy recently again. Does this problem exist in Spain as well? How is it we still have to deal with this in 2017?

"This is something that worries me a lot. They’re tackling the issue very well in Spain. They’re working on it and everyone is contributing: clubs, the FA, the government, players and coaches. Everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet and everyone has the same obsession. It can be improved in Italy, but everyone needs to help, even the media who can blow the whistle on it.

"A professional player should be able to walk off the pitch angry after a defeat, but not because they’ve been insulted due to the colour of their skin or beliefs. I’ve spent the last few days with Toni [Antonio Rudiger] and this issue is painful for him. I call upon everyone to protect the players, not just him but also Sulley Muntari and all players in this situation.

"We’re in 2017 and it’s been the 21st century for a while now: we shouldn’t have to speak about this issue. As I’m the last through the door, I humbly ask everyone to show strength and support when denouncing incidents like these."

Historically Roma haven’t won a lot, but what is impressive from your time at Sevilla is that you transformed them into a winning club. Do you see any similarities between the two clubs? What is the secret to your work?

"I don’t believe there’s any secret to my work. There are no magic formulas, otherwise I would have sold them already. There are no identical clubs in the world; they all have their own character. In Spain, I was often asked what my secret was and I always gave a fairly unoriginal answer: working hard.

"What does working hard mean? It’s not just about buying players and watching games. I believe Roma fans deserve to see their dreams come true, so we all have to help the club – all of us. If we’re not going in the same direction, we won’t achieve our aims. We all must work hard; you’ll get to know me in time. My aim is to bring everyone together – from [James] Pallotta to every single employee and right on down to myself – in order to achieve the same objective. This is the first step towards achieving success."

What’s your position on the future of Luciano Spalletti?

"I’ll tell you a story, a secret rather. The first time I received a call asking me to weigh up the possibility of coming to Roma, I spent the night thinking about the pros and cons. The negatives were merely to do with leaving Seville, which was difficult because it’s been my home for so many years. There were many positives, but one that I’ll say now was Luciano Spalletti and the idea of being able to work with him, the excitement of being on his side.

"I think he’s a very important coach. I will try to make this happen, but for now we mustn’t get distracted, we don’t have a second to lose. What matters now is the remaining fixtures. I still have hope he’ll stay with us, because he was one of the reasons that attracted me here. I’ll give it a go with passion and enthusiasm; let’s see if I manage."

What did it feel like to leave Sevilla?

"It’s the first time I’ve left Sevilla, not just as sporting director but in every sense. I first joined the club at 19 years old and obviously, the unknown can be frightening at the start, but not in my wildest dream could I have imagined a better welcome than the one I received here from the club, the fans and other clubs in Italy or Spain. A lot was done to prepare for my arrival and I’d like to thank everybody involved: Umberto, Mauro, Ricky, the guys from the media department. It made everything so much easier. It’s as if we started 1-0 up as far as I’m concerned."

Would you be open to giving Francesco Totti another year-long contract as a player? Will Daniele De Rossi renew his contract and be a Roma player next year as well?

"I’ll start by answering about Daniele. The desire and interest is the same from both sides: Daniele and Roma want to continue together. We’d look really stupid if we don’t manage to come to an agreement. I’ve met Daniele: he’s a top player and a fantastic guy. We’ll try to reach our common aim together.

"As for Francesco, I’ll say that I’ve been here for a week and I knew there was already an agreement between him and the club for one final year as a player that would lead into a role as Roma director starting from next season.

"Now I want to look forward and I ask that Francesco is right by my side so I can understand what Roma are about, because he is Roma. I ask him to stay close to me if he wants to and if I get to understand even 1% of what he knows about Roma, I’ll consider myself lucky."

How much did Franco Baldini have an effect your decision to come to Roma?

"I don’t know how to put it: Roma had an effect on me. Baldini was the person I spoke to and the person who took on Pallotta’s request to get in contact, but I didn’t fall for Baldini; I fell for Roma."

How much could Roma’s league position influence investment in the club? Are there two transfer strategies based on whether the club finishes second or third?

"I’m doing three intensive courses at the moment: one in Italian, another to get to know the names of everyone at the club and the third in ambition. Roma are an ambitious club from top to bottom. Obviously qualifying for the Champions League will open the door to better revenue, but money isn’t everything. It helps but it isn’t everything. We need to concern ourselves with qualifying for the Champions League to help the prestige and growth of the Roma brand and attract big players.

"This concern is not connected to money: money can supplement hard work, but we’ll try to hit this target because of its prestige. As long as we haven’t done so, we’ll continue to roll up our sleeves and get down to work."

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You had to sell players for financial reasons at Sevilla. Will you need to adopt the same strategy here at Roma?

"It was a necessary strategy at Sevilla because we had to hit a series of financial targets. It was difficult but luckily, we managed to hit those targets and generate income. However, this is only a partial analysis of the situation; what made Sevilla a good side was the sporting success. We shall develop a strategy to achieve sporting success. For now, I’ll try to analyse the question and I’ll say one thing straight away: the biggest problem in our job is not selling but buying badly. We will all work together to come up with one shared strategy to achieve success. Do you really believe I've left my home to come here and not win?"

Is ‘unsellable’ a word that exists for you? What is your approach to the job?

"The stock response to this is that you do get players who are unsellable. However, I told you that I won’t pull the wool over your eyes, so personally I don’t believe any player is unsellable. Evidently, some are more important than others. In any case, I’m not saying that Roma will have to sell. Roma will analyse all the offers that arrive in both economic and sporting terms.

"Roma don’t have a billboard that says, ‘we’re here to sell’ but one that says, ‘we’re here to win’. No one is sellable and no one is unsellable. As for my approach to work, you’d need a sit-down interview for that."

At Roma, will you continue to look for players like Dani Alves or Sergio Ramos, who developed into incredible stars, or will there ever be a chance to buy a ready-made player like Gonzalo Higuain? Where are we on the Franck Kessie deal?

"To clarify, Ramos wasn’t purchased but came from the youth academy. I like working with young players and buying young players, but it’s not an obsession of mine. We have one objective, which is that the players we want to buy must have two qualities: ability and hunger to win. Desire, will and enthusiasm – it’s all the same whether you’re 19 or 28. This is what we need to go for.

"Kessie is an excellent player who Roma are keeping tabs on. We’ve had some great reports on him. I was aware of the deal, it’s a possibility and we’ll see what happens. We’re just at the start, it’s a new day, anything is possible."