Totti was not joking and “takes it very seriously”

Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365: published on Monday October 28, 2024 at 11:17 p.m.

At 48 years old, Francesco Totti would really seriously consider returning to the field officially in Italy. Maybe in 2025…

Something quite incredible could happen soon on the football planet. We know that we can still play at an advanced age. At 57, the Japanese Kazuyoshi Miura, who left Portugal last summer to return to Japan, is the perfect example by playing the oldest professional footballer in the world to still be active on the pitch. “I have no plans to retire. My passion for the game is still strong. My passion does not die out,” underlined the veteran (89 caps, 55 goals with the Japanese national team) who started in… 1986. Francesco Totti is 9 years younger than the Japanese legend but the same love for football. And imagine that we could really see the legendary Italian striker in competition again in the coming months.

Totti: “I admit it’s madness”

Last week, we thought that the man who only had one club jersey, that of AS Roma, was joking. “It would be difficult but in life you should never say never. If I were to return to Serie A, I would have to train well. With the level of Serie A today, I could easily have a say on the pitch,” said Totti, now 48 years old. What do you mean the former number 10 who retired in May 2017 would be ready to put on his boots again? Many thought it was a joke.

“We’ll see next year”

But the man with 786 matches with Roma, the 2nd top scorer in the history of the Italian championship (250), was hardly joking. Francesco Totti cleared things up this weekend. “I take this very seriously. We'll see, there are one or two teams interested. I admit it's madness. I always said I need a few months to be ready. We'll see how my body responds, because at the head level, I already know the answer. We’ll see next year,” said the 48-year-old Italian on the sidelines of the EA7 World Legends Padel Tour. According to the Italian press, Como could be a base for the former Roma goleador. Cagliari and Sampdoria Genoa were also mentioned.