Roma have sacked their manager José Mourinho with the club ninth in Serie A and appointed Daniele De Rossi as his successor. De Rossi, who played 616 times for the club, has signed a contract to 30 June with an option to extend. The dismissal of Mourinho follows Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Milan and last Wednesday’s Coppa Italia exit in the derby against Lazio. The owners, Dan and Ryan Friedkin, thanked Mourinho “for his passion and efforts” and for creating “great memories” but said: “We believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club.” Talks with De Rossi were concluded swiftly. Only Francesco Totti has made more appearances for Roma than De Rossi, who was given his first-team debut in 2001 and left in 2019. The former midfielder’s only experience as a manager was a short stint in Serie B with Spal that ended last February but he has worked as a coach with Italy under Roberto Mancini and held age-group roles in the Italian Football Federation. “The excitement of being able to sit on our bench is indescribable,” De Rossi said. “Everyone knows what Roma means to me. However, the work that awaits us all has already taken precedence. We have no time or choice but to be competitive, fight for our goals, and try to achieve them.” Mourinho took charge of Roma in 2021 and led the club to their first trophy in 14 years by winning the Europa Conference League in 2022. He also reached the final of last season’s Europa League, losing on penalties to Sevilla. Roma have one win from their past five matches – against Cremonese in the Coppa Italia – and also lost to Juventus in that spell. Mourinho departs with the club facing a Europa League last-32 tie against Feyenoord next month having finished second in their group behind Slavia Prague. Mourinho finished sixth in each of his two full Serie A seasons with Roma. The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United manager, who will be 61 this month, leaves with the club five points behind fourth-placed Fiorentina and 22 points behind the leaders, Inter.