Roma reject Barcelona apology over Malcom transfer and accuse them of acting ‘unethically and immorally’

Roma president James Pallotta launches a scathing verbal attack on Barcelona after they

Roma president James Pallotta has accused Barcelona of acting “unethically and immorally” after they signed Malcom from under the Italians’ nose, and has rejected their apology for the way they approached Bordeaux during last-minute negotiations.

Roma announced that they had agreed a deal with Boredeaux to sign Malcom, with the transfer only needing a completed medical and finalised personal terms to get the green light.

The Serie A club even announced the agreement on Twitter, only for Barcelona to pursue a late bid to sign the 21-year-old Brazilian after failing with their £65m offer to sign Chelsea’s Willian.

The following day, Malcom failed to arrive in Rome after deciding not to board his private chartered plane from France, and instead completed a £45m move to Barcelona – much to the fury of Roma.

“There's no question that we had a deal with Malcom, then Barca jumped into the mix unethically and immorally. They knew this was done,” Parrotta said on American radio station Sirius XM.

“I have zero problem battling it out for a player with Inter or Bayern or whoever and all of us going through the same process. That's the way it works.

“Sure some people say ‘it wasn't signed’. That's bulls***. We all know how it works. The kid comes in for the medical and the signing is done.

“Other teams know not to come in and do what Barca did. Bordeaux should have never been doing what they did. Their actions were ridiculous.

Malcom's last-minute move to Barcelona has infuriated Roma president James Parrotta (AFP/Getty)

“For Bordeaux to come back and say 'Oh well, we didn't sign it...', well, they asked if they could put it on their website and tweet that he's going to Rome.”

Roma are understood to be considering legal action against Barcelona, having seen the Spanish side trump their offer with a £36.5m bid that could rise by another £1m depending on variables.

Parrotta also went on to reveal that Barcelona have apologised to their Roma counterparts, but that it had not been accepted by the Italian club, and the American businessman even went on to claim that the only way they could make up for it was by selling them Lionel Messi in return.

“Barcelona apologised about their actions and how they did things,” Parrotta added. “I don't accept the apology at all. The only way I'll accept Barca's apology is if they send the player to us, and that's not going to happen. Maybe, as a goodwill gesture, the very least they could do is send us Messi.”