Francesco Totti reveals he was on the verge of joining Real Madrid, expected “more respect” from Roma and wouldn’t be against his son joining Lazio.
The icon spoke to Er Faina on an Instagram Live chat and went back over his career, which was spent entirely in the Giallorossi jersey.
“My dream was to remain at Roma forever, but then it’s natural when you grow up and realise there are going to be bumps in the road over many years.
Francesco Totti reveals he was on the verge of joining Real Madrid, expected “more respect” from Roma and wouldn’t be against his son joining Lazio.
The icon spoke to Er Faina on an Instagram Live chat and went back over his career, which was spent entirely in the Giallorossi jersey.
“My dream was to remain at Roma forever, but then it’s natural when you grow up and realise there are going to be bumps in the road over many years.
“Milan started trying to sign me before I even made my debut for Roma. Ariedo Braida came to my house and wanted to take me to Milan at all costs.
“The time I really was on the verge of leaving was for Real Madrid in 2004-05. I really was on the cusp of that transfer, it was practically all done.
“I wanted to win. We’d won one Scudetto and then lost two straight afterwards. We were slowing down our progress, so I wanted us to buy champions and hire coaches to win trophies. I saw a lot of problems.
“However, Franco Sensi was like a father to me and I gave him everything I possibly could.”
Totti’s rapport with current President Jim Pallotta is practically non-existent, even after he had agreed to remain after retirement as a club director.
“Pallotta never told me that I wasn’t going to be offered a new contract, he just made sure I got the message. It was disappointing, because I’d done so much for Roma and expected a little more respect.
“The call came, I had two games left and my world collapsed around me. Even if I could feel that I was in the final stages of my career, I still would’ve appreciated more respect.”
Totti’s son Christian is now in the Roma youth academy, but he was asked what he’d do if the teenager was offered a role at rivals Lazio.
“If it was up to me, I’d think about it. However, knowing Christian, he wouldn’t even sit down at the table to listen. It’s basically the same thing I did with my mother when I was at Lodigiani and we had offers from Roma and Lazio.”