Petrucci: I don't regret choosing Manchester United

The highly-touted Roma academy star famously chose to join Manchester United as a teenager. After a nomadic career since, in this exclusive interview he insists he still has no regrets...

He’s now 29, with a few good years ahead of him - but perhaps his very best now somewhere in the rear-view mirror.

Davide Petrucci has enjoyed a football career that would be the envy of most – playing in England and Belgium, Italy and Romania – yet in many ways, his story will always be linked with unfulfilled potential.

Petrucci was just 17, after all, when he became the talk of the footballing world back in 2008. Perhaps the most highly-touted of a very promising Roma age group, Petrucci made the controversial decision to join Premier League side Manchester United, heading to the UK before he had even got close to making his Giallorossi debut.

At the time he was talked of in hushed tones as something of a once-in-a-generation talent, a creator with all the talent in the world. The No. 10 throughout the age groups, he was considered a potential heir to the No. 10 leading the first-team.

His reputation was burgeoning, and United, who were avid scouters of all the top young talent at the time, had chosen Petrucci.

Yet, in the end, the youngster never made an impression at Old Trafford. Ahead of Thursday’s Europa League meeting with one of his former clubs, Romanian side CFR Cluj, we spoke to Petrucci about the eventual winding path his football career has taken…

“Living in different countries and getting to know different cultures has helped me mature – I learned that I can live anywhere," Petrucci told asroma.com.

"Of course, though, Italy is different- and Rome is Rome.”

With hindsight, would you have made the same choices in your career?

“Yes, I don’t regret any of it. Every decision must be made based on what you are feeling at the time, you can’t hesitate and you shouldn’t then regret it or wonder 'What if?' later.

'I think I went on an incredible journey – I experienced different places and I grew a lot as a person too.”

So you would choose to join Manchester United all over again, rather than try to break into the first-team at Roma?

“At the time, it was impossible to turn down that offer. It was a massive opportunity in every respect. Roma really tried to keep me, but once my parents had the chance to go to Manchester and to meet Sir Alex Ferguson – who outlined the offer they were making – we made the decision to go.

“Clearly, leaving Roma was difficult for me. I grew up there and I was playing in a really great team, with some talented players like [Alessandro] Florenzi, [Andrea] Bertolacci, [Alessandro] Crescenzi, [Marco] D’Alessandro.

"We were all born in 1991 and we had [future Inter coach] Andrea Stramaccioni as manager too. I still keep in touch with him today.”

How did Manchester United’s interest come about?

“It was Federico Macheda who first talked to me about the possibility. He had gone to Manchester already. I knew Federico from when I was 10 years old. Even if he is a Lazio fan, we were friends – for the national team we would always room together. In the end it was with the Italy youth teams that everything started.

“The United scouts, who came to watch Federico, noticed me during a game against Ukraine. That’s when they started to take an interest in me. Then, after I finished top goalscorer at the Arco di Trento tournament, that’s when they made an offer to me and my family. It was a huge chance for me, to go to a club that had just won the Champions League.”

Is it true that, as some Italian newspapers wrote at the time, Ryan Giggs was there to meet you at the airport in the UK?

“No, he wasn’t at the airport. However at United, and indeed at English clubs in general, the first-team and the youth teams are much closer together.”

How do you mean?

“In the training centre a lot of the spaces are shared by all the teams – everyone is treated equally. That’s the case whether it be in the gym, the pool or the dining room. When I would go to lunch, or I would train on my own, I would often find Rio Ferdinand beside me, or Giggs or Cristiano Ronaldo. That really helped me to feel comfortable when I did train with the first-team.”

Who were some of the notable faces you worked with in England?

“There were a lot. My coach at Manchester United was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who now is head coach of the first team. But there was also Paul Scholes. I played with Paul Pogba, Danny Welbeck, Andreas Pereira – who now plays for Lazio.

“But it wasn’t just in England. In Belgium I worked with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and at Cluj I played under Antonio Conceicao – who is now the head coach of Cameroon.”

What was your time at Cluj like?

“It was great. I had two fantastic years in Romania, from 2014 to 2016. And it wasn’t just on the pitch, off it I felt comfortable as well. We had a really united group, we were always really focused and motivated. We did pretty well, we performed well in the league.

"Cluj had been in the Champions League and done quite well for a few years, but during that particular period there were a few economic problems. On the pitch we managed to qualify for the Europa League, but unfortunately we weren’t allowed to participate because the club was banned from Europe.”

What’s different about Romanian football?

“It’s a bit calmer, compared to here in Italy. We were a bit freer during the week, between matches. After one game finished, everyone’s attention just turned to the next one. There wasn’t so much pressure.”

Last year you returned to Italy, with Ascoli, after being abroad for 11 years.

“I needed to come back home, for family reasons too. It’s a great life in Italy. I also bought a house in Rome.”

You grew up in San Basilio, where did you buy your house?

“In Monte Sacro – but I go back to San Basilio often, whenever I’m in Rome. That’s where I was born and where I grew up. I’m really proud of where I grew up and the city as a whole.

"When I was living abroad, I would come back whenever I could and visit the city centre, or go to other parts as if I was a tourist. Before I went to England I hardly ever left my neighborhood and I didn’t really know the city at all.”

Roma and Cluj? Both teams have a significant part in my career and I hope that we will watch a great game. Roma is definitely stronger than Cluj, without a doubt. 

- Davide Petrucci

What type of player are you these days?

“This season I’m with Cosenza and I’m hoping to produce my best form. With the passing of time I’ve become more of a central midfielder, less of the trequartista or playmaker that I was when I was growing up. These days I feel really comfortable playing as one of the two in a 4-2-3-1.”

Has Covid-19 affected your team?

“Unfortunately these week a few cases have been confirmed at the club. The virus gets everywhere. It’s not easy to manage the situation. Here we do tests every two or three days. Beyond that we train normally once a day, but then we go home and stay home – trying to respect all the regulations as much as we possibly can.”

Will you watch the match on Thursday?

"Of course. Both teams have a significant part in my career and I hope that we will watch a great game. Roma is definitely stronger than Cluj, without a doubt.