Totti: I cried for three weeks after leaving Roma and almost went to Real Madrid in 2004. Ronaldo is even better than Messi

Football 6:20am, 17 October 2025 113

Totti looked back on his career in an interview with Amazon Prime Video, from the joy of winning the Roma title to the sadness of retirement, as well as his love for the yellow and red jersey and the controversy with Luciano Spalletti.

He recalled: "When I was a child, my dream was to become a football player. It is everyone's dream to wear the Roma jersey. As I grow older, I tell myself, 'I start here and I will end here'. It is difficult to find someone who plays for Roma like me, and no one can surpass the love between me and the fans."

Totti revealed that he had the opportunity to join Real Madrid in 2004, but ultimately chose to stay because of his love for Roma: "I almost went to Real Madrid, but in the end my heart prevailed. I am full of love for this team and the people here."

He also mentioned the scene when he first played for Roma at the age of 17: "Mazzone is like my second father. Man, he knows when to start me and when to bench me, just like a father does to his son. "

Regarding his idol, Totti said: "Although Giannini's position is different from mine. He is the organizer and I am the midfielder, but I never thought that I would become as powerful as him, or even better. "

Regarding the derby game and the most exciting goal, he said: "The derby is the most important game every year. It is like the World Cup finals for me and De Rossi. Fortunately, we have two games a year. The goal in the 5-1 win over Lazio came against a very strong team. "

As captain, leading Roma to win the Serie A championship left a deep impression on Totti: "That feeling cannot be described in words. , destined to win the championship at the Stadio Olimpico, that is a very strong team, and Sensi has made a lot of efforts to sign Batistuta. Capello was worried about the fans storming the pitch and if we lost the game I would retire. We could have won more, but it was close. The Serie A championship and the World Cup are different, but they are both dreams. "

Talking about the relationship between Spalletti during his second time coaching Roma, Totti said: "This is not the Spalletti I know. No matter what happens in training, he always targets me. He came to Rome just to retire me. I was out for three or four months with a thigh injury. After all, I was still the captain, but he never cared about my situation and put me on the back burner. Although apart from that heated argument , there are no other problems between us, but there does exist some friction. "

Regarding the way he said goodbye to Roma, Totti expressed dissatisfaction: "They once told me that I could decide by myself when to retire, but before the derby, the club's top management came to me and said that it was the last derby. I wasn’t ready, the timing and the approach was wrong. In my disappointment, I blame Roma, followed by Spalletti. I felt lost and cried every day for three weeks. I could have gone to MLS and Mihajlovic invited me to Turin, but I didn't want to spoil everything. "

The most unforgettable teammate in his heart is Candela, and the player he most wants to play with is "alien" Ronaldo. Totti said "he is even better than Messi."

Finally speaking about the relationship with Nesta, he said: "We have been playing against each other in derby since we were children. We are the same age and did not intersect in Rome for obvious reasons, but we respect each other."

source:bongda 7m