Totti: ‘Why I snubbed AC Milan and Real Madrid’

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Francesco Totti had a long interview with Il Venerdì di Repubblica. He discussed, many of the themes from his career in Roma, purchases lost, the great crossroads of his career until retirement and the future leaders.

What’s Totti doing now? Is he bored?
“Not yet. The days are almost like those from the past. I wake up, take the children to school, then go to Trigoria, I’m with the coach, the team, I follow every training. After lunch I come back and dedicate myself to the boys.”

Why haven’t you stopped playing in Asia, America…?
“Because I would have ruined 25 years of career. I always said I would wear only one shirt. I am a man of my word.”

Milan were ready to pay 300 million when you were only 12…
“In that case the ‘No’ was from my family, especially my mother’s. Dad worked late. She was always behind me. He didn’t want me to get away. She wanted me all for herself. ”

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With Real you would have won more trophies. Any regret?
“No, but deciding was very hard. I also stayed for Ilary. We were just together, and I don’t like long distance relationships. Sooner or later they always end.”

Back to the Scudetto. During the celebrations you were forced to take refuge in a convent on the Aventine. “I was having dinner with family and friends in a restaurant when we start to feel a roar of crowds. The rumor had spread that I was there. At some point I saw five thousand people blocking the streets. They wanted to come in and the owner told me there was no second exit. The only thing I could do was to climb over the railing and escape on the side of the convent. We climbed in the darkness between the plants.

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