The long-serving Italian forward admits that he passed up the opportunity to join the iconic Brazilian forward at the Santiago Bernabeu
Roma great Francesco Totti has revealed that his status as a one-club man came under threat when Real Madrid came calling and that he regrets not playing alongside Brazilian great Ronaldo.
The 40-year-old has spent his entire career in the Italian capital, making close to 800 appearances.
He was, however, given the opportunity to head for pastures new at various stages while at the peak of his powers, with Madrid offering him the chance to join a star-studded squad of ‘Galacticos’ at Santiago Bernabeu.
Totti considering one more year at Roma
“Many years ago I was really close to Real Madrid, I was pondering to leave Roma to go to Madrid,” he explained in an interview with L’Intervista .
“I was really close. I would never sign for another Italian side out of respect for the people.
“My regrets are not playing with Ronaldo, the Brazilian one, and not winning the Champions League with Roma.”
Totti is currently weighing up his options as he approaches the end of another season in Rome.
He will announce a decision on his future in May or June but does not wish to move into coaching because “players are so sly”.
“I’m thinking about my future, I’ve almost made my decision, but I’ll wait for May or June,” he said.
“I will never become a coach, I don’t like to be one against 30, players are so sly.
“I have three options for my future: to continue to play on the current pitches [as a Roma player], to become a Roma executive or quit football to do something else.
“But I could also become an agent, I know football, a little bit…”
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.