Roma President James Pallotta says he will ‘sit down with Francesco Totti’ to make a decision on his future that will be for ‘the good of the team’.
The Giallorossi captain was dropped for Sunday’s 5-0 win over Palermo after a television interview in which he complained about a lack of playing time under Luciano Spalletti.
“I didn’t just have one reaction to Totti’s interview, let’s say I had two,” Pallotta said to Corriere dello Sport.
Roma President James Pallotta says he will ‘sit down with Francesco Totti’ to make a decision on his future that will be for ‘the good of the team’.
The Giallorossi captain was dropped for Sunday’s 5-0 win over Palermo after a television interview in which he complained about a lack of playing time under Luciano Spalletti.
“I didn’t just have one reaction to Totti’s interview, let’s say I had two,” Pallotta said to Corriere dello Sport.
“On the one hand surprise for Francesco’s words, but at the same time an understanding that it was borne of frustration.
“I didn’t expect such a thing, even though in a certain sense I get it: he’s a great player, he’s written history with Roma, adores to compete and is a superstar.
“Spalletti is an extraordinary tactician, one of the five best in the world, you could say he lives at Trigoria.
“He’s a great professional and the players work well with him, he’s always available and has the chance of doing something great with this team.
“It’s absolutely not true that Spalletti disrespected Totti, that’s just speculation. Let’s start from the four minutes against Real Madrid: Spalletti wanted to bring him on at 1-0 as a way of equalising.
“And then I see it from another angle, it could’ve been the last Champions League home game for Francesco, you never know what can happen in the future. So then Spalletti gave him the opportunity for a final run out.
“Francesco and I will sit at a table, I’ll speak with him but also with the others. In December, when we met the last time, he told me that he wanted to continue playing. Now we will see.
“When you’re the owner of a team you must respect every one of your players, in this case there is great respect towards Totti and he can remain at Roma as a player or director.
“From him until now, after that meeting in December, I haven’t had an answer. I asked him what his intentions were and I haven’t had any confirmation yet from Francesco.
“Now we will meet again and I expect that he’ll tell me his decision. And, again for a question of respect, I can’t say before the meeting what will happen. I don’t like speculation, it’s not for me.
“He will make the best decision for the good of the team, but only at the moment of the meeting. They are, I repeat, private conversations that you can’t anticipate."