Totti return to Roma remains distant as dispute over shirt royalties deepens

Aldair, Bruno Conti, Candela and many others shared birthday messages for Francesco Totti, with Zago, the 2001 Serie A championship-winning hero, offering a humorous story to Il Messaggero about their time as teammates. When Zago first arrived at Roma, he shared a room with Totti during the early days of pre-season training. "In the middle of the night he started shouting 'give me the ball, give me the ball'. I got scared and the next day I asked Vito Scala if that was normal, and he explained to me that Totti often talks while he sleeps. It happened other times but by then I was prepared," Zago recalled. The anecdote reveals Totti's single-minded focus on football — so consuming that it followed him even into his dreams.

Francesco Totti and AS Roma remain at an impasse over more than just a symbolic role — a commercial dispute over the No. 10 shirt has now emerged as a significant barrier to his return to the club ahead of the 2027 centenary. According to La Repubblica, Roma has continued to sell shirts bearing Totti's name and number 10 since his retirement in 2017, but Totti has received no royalties from those sales. The scale of the issue is substantial: approximately 15,000 shirts were sold in the past season alone, with several hundred thousand units sold across the period from 2018 to the present. This economic dispute must be resolved before any new agreement can be reached between the parties, the report states. The issue surfaced during negotiations held over recent months between Roma and representatives of the former captain. Roma met with Totti's entourage three times, and all three meetings resulted in a rejection of the club's proposed terms, according to the newspaper. The most recent conversation took place less than a month ago and was attended by Roma's new chief executive Galantic, but rather than bringing the sides closer, that meeting produced a further chill in relations. The No. 10 matter is inseparable from a second, equally significant disagreement: Totti's desired role at the club. He does not wish to return merely as an image ambassador for centenary celebrations and rejects a purely symbolic presence at events. Instead, he is seeking a genuine executive position with real decision-making authority and responsibility — a principle he has reiterated in his recent autobiography and interviews. The paradox is stark: Roma continues to celebrate Totti and sells his name and number on merchandise, yet cannot find common ground to bring him back inside the club in a substantive capacity. With the centenary celebrations set to begin in less than a year, time is tightening considerably.

Leonardo Balerdi has already won over the Roma dressing room since arriving from Marseille on a loan deal worth €1 million with a buy obligation structured around appearance thresholds. Roma had pursued the defender last season but Marseille's €30 million asking price proved prohibitive; the French club's subsequent financial difficulties allowed Trigoria to move decisively. The deal converts to a permanent transfer in June 2026, with the fee determined by Balerdi's playing time: €14 million if he plays at least 55% of matches as a starter, €11 million if between 40–55%, or €9 million if he reaches 20%. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is confident Balerdi will feature heavily for the remainder of the season, having already demonstrated his worth. Gasperini praised the Argentine's credentials in both defensive positioning and ball progression. "Leonardo is a captain; we knew the player's value well," the coach said, highlighting the personality Balerdi has already shown on the pitch. The impression at the club is that he will be a cornerstone of Roma's defence, combining physicality with the composure needed to build from the back—qualities rarely found in a single defender at this stage of a transfer window.