Roma manager Jose Mourinho has denied trying to provoke the club’s bosses with a picture on his Instagram account but admitted things are “not OK”.
Mourinho, 60, and his staff can be seen embracing an invisible player after Roma failed to sign a striker to cover the injured Tammy Abraham.
“There was no provocation, that wasn’t the intention,” he told Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
Abraham suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury last season.
Mourinho added: “Everything is not okay but… I get angry for an hour and then I’m back to being positive about things.
“Regarding the imaginary striker, I can tell you that even if [Kylian] Mbappe arrives next week, it would still be late.”
The image was posted at the end of Roma’s pre-season training camp in Portugal a week ago.
England striker Abraham, 25, was taken off on a stretcher shortly after coming on as a substitute during the side’s final Serie A game against Spezia in June and is not expected to play again before the end of 2023.
Roma were linked with Spain striker Alvaro Morata and Atalanta forward Gianluca Scamacca but neither signing has come to fruition. Morata remains at Atletico Madrid, while Scamacca is close to joining Roma’s Italian rivals Atalanta from West Ham.
“After Tammy’s injury we are in a situation that no coach in the world would like to be in,” said Mourinho. “It is impossible for me to say that I am happy. But to say that I am in open war with the club is very wrong.
“Tammy was injured on 5 June – we are talking about 63, 64 days [ago]. For me there is a name, there is one, because I am usually very objective and pragmatic, but it is not possible to get him – this is what I was told.”
Roma finished sixth in the Italian top flight last season and start their 2023-24 campaign at home to Salernitana on 20 Augus