Monchi satisfied with Roma qualifying to quarter-final

CAIRO – 16 March 2018: The sporting director of AS Roma, the Spaniard Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo "Monchi", considers Manchester City the "strongest of all" in the Champions League, although he said that Real Madrid is "also used to winning everything."

"It is difficult to say who is the best, they are all difficult, Real Madrid is used to winning everything; but Manchester City is the strongest for me," he said in an interview with the club's official radio.

Monchi evaluated the possible rivals of Roma, as the draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League will be held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.

Eight teams will be in the pot: Roma, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Manchester City, Liverpool, Juventus and Bayern Munich.

Roma’s foxes qualified for the quarter finals for the first time since 2008 after eliminating Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday with a 1-0 result.
In his opinion, for the Italian team it must be "a pride" to be among the "top eight” that have accessed the quarter finals in the Champions League, even though "maybe everyone wants (in the draw) Rome"

"Everyone wants to play against Rome, well, keep calm," he said, adding that "the group is mentally strong about what can be found in the future."

Monchi has previously worked inside the Spanish club Sevilla, discovering many great players, such as Sergio Ramos and Jesus Navas. He also brought great names when they were young, having signed Dani Alves, Seydou Keita and Ivan Rakitic.