Former captain Francesco Totti said Roma need ‘someone who knows’ the environment and admitted he pictured a future at the Olimpico. ‘I would have killed myself rather than leave’.
The former Italy international and World Cup winner spoke to Bobo TV and recalled his farewell from the Giallorossi.
“I pictured myself at Roma forever,” he said. “Then they put me up against the wall, forcing me to make a decision I would never have made.
“I made a choice, I decided to stay in the world of football.”
Totti, who spent two seasons on the board of directors until June 2019, was asked what he would do if the new owners at Roma contacted him.
“I would sit down and talk about it,” he added. “Now, I would like to complete this path, I would not be at peace with myself if it ended, even for the team I set up.
“I would feel bad leaving my collaborators. Then, if I were to get tired, I would look at what to do.
“I would have killed myself rather than leaving Roma. I could have brought only good things.”
Totti said he ‘suffers’ from being left out of the project at Roma but hopes to see them ‘finish as high as possible’.
“I look at it as a fan, I get angry because I hope they finish as high as possible,” he continued. “I hope to help Roma grow with my work, at least from the outside.
“But I suffer from it. I could have done more than other executives, but I was the last of the Mohicans.
“I was never involved in the decisions. Now, the club is still foreign, the coach and sporting director are foreigners.
“Someone who knows everything about Roma could have been useful, that’s what’s missing at the moment.
“Why do you think so many former players can’t be part of a club? Perhaps because they are annoying. If I took a football club, I would call former players because they know football.”
Let’