Francesco Totti is Roma through and through
Between his debut in 1992 and his retirement last year, he made 786 appearances in the club’s colours, scoring over 300 goals for them along the way and achieving legendary status with supporters.
Though he had offers to move elsewhere – including the chance to end his career with a money-spinning switch to the United States – Totti stayed loyal to Roma, keeping his promise that he would only ever play for them.
The fact that he was a boyhood supporter of the Giallorossi played its part in his decision to stay put. As well as watching the team as a boy, he also developed a dislike for their city rivals, Lazio.
As was revealed in an interview published on Roma’s official website, Totti showed his disdain for Lazio while collecting football stickers.
Asked if it was true that he would deliberately stick Lazio stickers the wrong way round in his album, the 41-year-old confirmed this was indeed the case.
“Yes, upside down,” he replied. “The only ones in the whole album.”
Despite this, he went on to reveal that his relationship with the fans of Lazio is a good one.
“You always get the odd idiot who will insult you or crack a nasty quip,” he explained. “But when I meet Lazio fans in the street most of them are fair game and just pay me compliments.
“The same goes for other fans when they see me in the stands in Bergamo, Milan or Turin. When I was a player they used to call me all sorts. Maybe they liked me back then too but couldn’t say it.”
Totti, who moved into a director role at Roma following his retirement, is due to publish his autobiography next week.
