Totti: "I can't stay at Roma like this"

Francesco Totti is considering his Roma future after starting just two Serie A games this season and has stated: "I demand more respect for all I've done here."

Totti has made over 700 appearances for the Serie A side and is club captain, but has been restricted to the role of squad player, best illustrated by the fact he came off the bench for the last three minutes of his side's 2-0 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Coach Luciano Spalletti said in his pre-match news conference that Totti could be in the Roma team for the Serie A game against Palermo on Sunday, but the 39-year-old forward remains frustrated at his first-team prospects.  

"I can't stay at Roma like this," Totti told TG1. "I still feel like a player who is physically in good shape and I want to play. The [thigh] injury [that he sustained in September] is behind me now and if I don't play it is purely down to a tactical decision. It hurts to be on the bench. I understand at my age that I play less, but ending my career like this is bad for me as a man and what I've given to Roma. I demand more respect for all I've done here.

"What is my rapport like with Spalletti? We say 'good morning' and 'good evening'. That's it. He said such nice things in the papers, but not to my face. I respect him as a coach and think he has what it takes to remain at Roma."

Totti added: "My contract expires in June, I await news from [president James] Pallotta and will evaluate the situation. I expect the fairness of people telling me the reality of the situation and how things really are."

Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/totti-i-cant-stay-roma#CdA1dL2EM5D5JCZ0.99

oh boy, let's see if totti's going to get his way and get rid of yet another coach

He's 39, surely at this point you just get rid of him

I know it's not that simple with Romanisti but I can't see any other way.

sad

He should just retire, IMO

titosantill wrote:oh boy, let's see if totti's going to get his way and get rid of yet another coach

Surely this cannot happen now, not this time. He is honestly, with every respect to his legendary skill level, no longer that sort of player. I'm surprised he hasn't gone off to less demanding pastures.

You're old news buddy , time to retire .

I've been saying it for years the coach who sits Totti on the bench gets the sack sooner or later, this time pal it will be the other way around.

He's always been a clown, why is this thread worthy?

just retire already ffs

Robespierre wrote:Basically Totti saw to play Dzeko so he thought " Why not me so" ?

Anyway I didn't expect these words from him , in this delicate moment, it's exactly the contrary must say a captain . Thinking to his interest than common good.
He should just retire.

Exactly, a player like Totti, a bandiera should always put the club's interest in front of his own. Especially when you are 39 years old.

totti has always been like this. this isn't surprising, he's had issues with a lot of people who have coached roma. the irony of this is, when he was on the decline- by say the 05 season, the person who was able to get the best out of him, deploying him in the false 9 role was spalletti. i believe he even became serie a top scorer with spalletti as the manager. a great player, and respectable fellow for sticking with roma (all the talk of one club men; its easier to stick with an elite club when you're good, and the team's winning. lounging with a roma side with little finances and aspirations is commendable).

BUT, the guy has always been extremely selfish, its his way or the high way at roma- voller ranieri capello and a host of others have had shaky relationships with him. at 39, he should be helping the youngsters and prepping himself for a position within the club, or move to china, mls or qatar. its a tough call to start a 39 year old attacker when a club wants to play ucl football and build for the future

as an aside, am i correct in thinking totti was really the first false 9? i'm not sure i can think of any before him

Come to Milan Totti , we will play you till you pass out

Joking aside . I get Totti . Obviously this is still Totti with his way or the high way , still going public to earn the fans to his side , kk , knowing this , Totti really isn't a player who takes the bench easily , 39 , iconic and what not. Players of his stature never accepted the bench . Nesta was like that , when he announced he would leave Milan he had said he could play at least another season yet he doesn't feel well on the bench and that he wanted to be important on the pitch , even at his age and even if it was away from Milan .

Totti is the same in this , the difference obviously being , Nesta wasn't about my way or the high way and although legendary for Milan , not quite what Totti is to Roma . He understood the situation and made his decision , which was the correct one , Totti though obviously doesn't want to play elsewhere , hence why he pushes it .

Obviously Totti should have avoided this , it goes without saying. He did it because he knows many of the Romanisti we fall behind him ; this is not the first time he takes the fans on his side , rightfully or not .

I certainly didn't expect this doe

Robespierre wrote:BREAKING NEWS  : Spalletti has dropped Totti from AS Roma  squad for this evening's match against Palermo

I expect amusing news and comments about this one , i can't help but wonder what went down there after Totti's comments and Spalleti excluding him lol .

Eager for what Totti has to say , molto calcio shenanigans

“I have lived through the same situation as Totti,” the fellow 39-year-old Ronaldo quipped briefly in the Italian talk-show Che tempo che fa. “Only Totti can decide what he wants to do.”

Ronaldo's statements, however, were made before the news came out of Spalletti's refusal to call up Totti for today's game.

The Brazilian also mentioned Inter's Honorary President Massimo Moratti.

“It was wonderful to meet him, because we did not part ways in the best manner.

“In 2002 I asked the President to choose between me and [Hector] Cuper, and he chose Cuper.”

Spoiler:

Ronaldo obviously understands Totti . These kind of players literally can't stand the bench , no matter how declined or whatever . Obviously that doesn't mean they are right , they certainly aren't objective about it if anything , but from their perspective , it's not something they will just accept .

I must give it to Spalletti however . Truly no nonsense and with conviction aplenty during his 2nd stint so far . This actually will serve as a firm message to everyone else at Roma , if he did this to Totti , they better watch out and not mess around with him . He might even come stronger out of this yet , depends how he will handle it all .

What's certain is Totti won't have taken the news well

Totti has always been a prima donna, this is too delicate of time for Roma to create unwanted drama. He's already guaranteed an executive role at the club once he retires, anyway. I feel like Spalletti could've done something lesss 'drastic' so to speak. There is an air about now, with this drama escalating, and he's added fuel to the fire. Something more internal would've been suitable imo

Anyways, i'm interested to the implications of this whole ordeal, especially with the players.

i don't know if he could have done anything less drastic. there aren't many easy ways to tell a player "u're going to be a back up from now on". think about it from spalletti's point of view, he wants to stay at roma long term (if a better option isn't forthcoming), if he has to play politics with a 39 year old totti, who at this stage, his teammates might feel he should be passing the torch, it may not bode well for the respect he seeks out of the younger athletes as the team moves into a new direction....

besides, he still brought totti on in the last game; its not like he totally cut him out, the way koeman did at valencia, where immediately he got in, he told all the veterans to completely forget about playing

That's the other post Robes

Wouldn't go as far as little man , although i certainly get what you are saying . He obviously wanted to leave for Real yes ; it was widely spread around there was mutual interest , even before the 2002 WC was over .

But the thing is ; what actually came first ? This was years ago and it wouldn't be the first time memory won't serve me well , but the Real interest really took off during the WC , and so , could it be Ronaldo put this question forth to Moratti prior to the WC ?

Because if this happened before the WC , and thus , before Real approached him , then surely you can see where he's coming from ? I still think he would have went to Real anyway , but i don't see what's to hold against Ronaldo here .

What happened between him and Cuper and then Moratti happened , then he had a great WC and wanted to move . You can say his ego was too big , no issue there , but other than that .. Cuper obviously didn't have a good relationship with him , then Moratti didn't take Ronaldo's side , then Ronaldo goes amazeballs in the WC , Real gets in. I would want to leave as well tbh , i think anybody would .

Anyway , more on topic , Ronaldo experienced the same for a while at Real in 06-07 , missed on some games and often came from the bench , which he obviously didn't like . Probably much more of it later on in Brazil . Not so much at Milan , he often played from the start whenever he was fit enough . Sadly his injuries never left him , so it wasn't that much to begin with . His 06-07 in Milan was pretty fun to watch though , he was doing fairly well . Aaaand he injured himself later (:

I remember when Pato arrived in 07-08 and i saw both for the first time playing together , the comparison was hilarious , a skinny kid next to Ronaldo who was visibly fat

I feel like this entire situation can be resolved with a simple renewal. Totti is panicking there is not much left until his contract expires, and there hasn't been much talk about it. He feels he has much to offer the team, surely not 90 min but 30-50 and he simply doesn't want to end his career on the bench not after all he has done for the club. As for spalletti his first couple of statments indicated that he intends/will to treats all players the same including Totti. That's where I think he's wrong Totti deserves a better treatment he is a legend. If spalletti wants to make amends with Totti I suggests he starts pushing pallotta to renew Totti's contract sooner than later.

But why would Roma renew him when he has barely played this season? I think he has something like 260 league minutes, or not even 3 full matches. Clearly he can no longer start at a club that aims for the CL, and his influence is far too toxic to accept a bit-part.

From a business stand point his jeresey is the #1 seller.
From footballing stand point the few matches Totti has played he often made the difference in the way we play. He's always been irreplaceable in the way he drops back to get the ball himself and be descive at time and score. Same reason Garcia often chose Totti over Destro in the previous season. He may be 39 but he's still got it.

Fair enough, but if Spaletti no longer trusts him, and Totti demands to start, surely they don't have a future together, right? Then the question becomes, does Roma renew a player the coach doesn't want (and will continue to not use) or just let him go?

If it were anyone else but Totti the choice would be fairly obvious

I don't think Spalletti no longer trusts him, especially how much history they have together. I just think spalletti is trying to prepare this team for the future without depending so much on Totti. Totti doesn't demand to start every game he was cool with Garcia, didn't get much playing time but when called up he's ready and is willing to give it  his all. The Marid game might of felt like a "charity sub" as some have called it and that's where his disappointment comes from. Totti was brought in the last 20 min and I think if he was to start the game or brought on earlier the result might have been different. He's rumored to be at the stands today which is great.