Totti opens the door to a Roma return, but says he would not accept a ceremonial role

Francesco Totti has reopened the door to a return to Roma, saying "Never say never" when asked about coming back to the club, in a long interview with Corriere della Sera. The former captain also spoke about his retirement, his health, his relationship with Luciano Spalletti and his decision to turn down Real Madrid.

Asked whether he regretted rejecting Real Madrid, Totti said he had no regrets but felt some disappointment. He recalled the Galacticos era of 2004, when Beckham and Zidane were at the Bernabéu, and said he would have won everything there, perhaps even the Ballon d'Or. "But it went well like this. There too, my heart and I decided together, and we thought the same way."

Totti described the day he left football as both the most beautiful and the most painful of his life. He said he felt "dead inside" as his career ended, adding: "For us footballers, when the pitch ends, everything changes, a cycle of life closes." He admitted he came close to depression after retiring, describing a sense of emptiness: "I felt alone in the middle of the ocean."

He also revealed a serious health scare with Covid. He said he nearly died, as his father had, and that doctors were about to admit him when his oxygen saturation fell to 87 with severe bronchopneumonia. He spent 21 days with a fever of 39 degrees and struggled to breathe. Professor Zangrillo phoned him and advised him to sleep with his chest on the bed to open his lungs. "I got out of it, but I had a close shave."

Totti praised head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, saying: "Of him I have a wonderful opinion, he has managed to make the Giallorossi fans fall in love, to build a united, solid group that wants to prove itself and wants to win. When there is a character like that at the helm, everything is possible."

On Spalletti, Totti said the two had only made a publicity appearance together and had enjoyed themselves. He described a close bond that went beyond football, but said there had been poisonous friction in the final year, which he believed came from above, from the club. "Someone convinced him that I plotted to get him sacked. But the opposite is true. He had me play even on one leg. I got on really well with him." He insisted that the interests of Roma, the squad and the fans always came first for him.

Totti also recalled that during the difficult period under the Sensi family, when the club was in serious financial trouble, he went for many months without taking his salary so it could go to staff members who had fewer means than the players. "I did many things like that without letting anyone know. My relationship with Roma is one of symbiosis. I gave a lot and received a lot."

On a possible future role, Totti said that under Pallotta he had left a contract with three and a half years remaining because he did not want to be a "pretty ornament". He said he felt that someone like him should be involved in the technical area. He recalled that when he was a director at Roma he was only called in when there were problems to fix. "I felt part of it and wanted to be in the project, not an image man. And I don't want to do that now. If they need my knowledge of football, I am here." He added that he would celebrate the club's centenary with the people of Rome and the Romanisti.

Asked about his happiest day, Totti named the birth of his son Cristian. He was playing in Messina and arrived at the hospital after the boy had already been born. "When I held him in my arms, I understood what the word happiness means."