Francesco Totti believes Lionel Messi would not have won eight Ballon d’Ors if he had spent his entire career playing for AS Roma, just like he has spent his entire career with the Italian capital club.
Francesco Totti is not only revered as a football icon for his outstanding talent, but also for his absolute loyalty to AS Roma throughout his 25-year career. The Italian legend has never regretted turning down the opportunity to play for Real Madrid, and he believes that if Lionel Messi had also spent his entire career at Roma, the Argentine superstar would hardly have won eight Ballons d’Or as he has now.
In his autobiography Gladiator , Totti revealed that president Florentino Perez wanted to bring him to Real Madrid since 2001, ready to make him the highest-paid player in the world. However, the Italian legend did not waver in the face of the attractive offer from “Los Blancos”, because his love for Rome and the capital team kept him there.
Sharing on the podcast Viva El Futbol , Totti explained why he never thought of leaving Roma to join a team like Real Madrid: “I never thought about playing for another club. It doesn’t make any sense. Only me and Paolo Maldini are the ones who have spent their entire 25-year career with one team,” Totti said (quoted from Football Italia).
Totti also mentioned Messi, asserting that if the Argentine superstar had stayed with Roma throughout his career, he would not have had the opportunity to touch many noble titles like he does now.
The Italian legend stressed: “Do you really think that if Messi played 25 years for Roma, alongside [Alessandro] Frau, Cesar Gomez and [Matteo] Pivotto, he could still win all those Ballons d’Or?”
Roma endured a turbulent first half of the season, sacking Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric within three months. However, under Claudio Ranieri, the capital club are showing signs of improvement. They are currently eighth in Serie A and are back in action on March 6, when they face Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.
