Perrotta praises Totti as one of Italy's greatest players alongside Baggio
Former Roma midfielder Simone Perrotta participated in a ranking format where he placed teammates across four tiers, ultimately naming Francesco Totti and Zinedine Zidane as the two greatest players he shared the pitch with. Perrotta, who spent nearly a decade at Roma between 2004 and 2013 with over 300 appearances, positioned Totti at the apex alongside Zidane. Other players ranked included Henry in the second tier, Cassano and Del Piero in the third tier, and Pellissier and Amauri in the fourth tier. De Rossi was placed in the third tier. In explaining his choice, Perrotta offered an extended analysis of Totti's qualities: "I knew you would ask me this, I put him in first place with Zidane. I think he is the strongest player that Italian football has ever produced, along with Roberto Baggio. I had the chance to appreciate him over 10 years. He was a player with incredible tactical intelligence and technically I don't need to say it because he demonstrated it throughout his career. If he wanted to send the ball into a hole from 50 metres, he could do it. Playing with him you realised that you just needed to give him half a metre and either he would turn and shoot at goal, scoring, or he understood he had the defender on him and would serve you first time. This makes you understand that you need technical qualities to do certain things, but if you don't also have tactical intelligence then the quality becomes worthless." Perrotta modestly placed himself in the lowest tier, stating satisfaction with his career despite believing others ranked were superior to him.
