In the summer of 2018, Roma were busy in the transfer market, in large parts thanks to the €83 million they received from reaching the Champions League semi finals, as well as selling Alisson for a world record €72 million including bonuses to Liverpool. In a very busy window, Roma spent €150 million to sign the likes of Shick, Nzonzi, Pastore, Kluivert, Defrel and more, while selling their 2 starting midfielders from the previous season, Nainggolan and Strootman. The 2018-2019 Serie A season was a disappointment for Roma as they spent the first half of the season bouncing between 6th and 10th place. This was compounded by the fact that many of the new signings failed to make an impact. After Roma were eliminated against Porto 4–3 on aggregate in the Champions League round of 16, Di Francesco was sacked and replaced by Claudio Ranieri who served as caretaker manager. The following day, sporting director Monchi stepped down. He stated: “I left Roma for a simple reason: I realized that the owners’ ideas were different to mine. The President thought it was better to go to the right, I thought it was better to go to the left”. James Pallotta hit back saying “I gave him 100 percent control to appoint the coach he wanted, to employ the assistant coaches and the performance staff, to manage the scouting and to bring in the players he wanted. If you look at our results and our performances, it’s clear that this hasn’t worked. He asked me to trust him and let him do it his way. We gave him complete control and now we have more injuries than we’ve ever had and are in danger of missing out on finishing in the top 3 for the first time since 2014." In Monchi's 2 years at the club, he spent £208 million on 21 signings, however within 2 years, only 12 of his signings remained at the club. Under Ranieri results improved, however Roma failed to qualify for the Champions League, finishing in 6th place on 66 points.