Francesco Totti will finally hang up his boots at the end of the season, Roma’s new sporting director has confirmed.
Monchi has joined the Serie A outfit from Sevilla and in his presentation in the Italian capital on Wednesday, the Spaniard revealed that the 40-year-old club legend will not have his contract renewed.
Instead, Totti will move upstairs at the Stadio Olimpico and take on a new role as director this summer.
Speaking to the Italian press, Monchi said: ‘In terms of Totti, I already knew that there was an agreement with the club that this would be his final year as a player, then he’d start as a director.
‘Francesco is Roma, I want to be as close to him as possible. I’d love to learn even one per cent of the huge amount that he knows.’
Confusion reigned in the aftermath of the final Rome derby of the season on Sunday, as the club’s general manager told press that Totti’s would be taking to the field against Lazio for the final time, only for the player himself to contradict the statement.
‘Somebody else may be saying that, but not me,’ he told reporters after a disappointing 3-1 defeat.
The announcement means that Totti’s final competitive clash in a Roma shirt is likely to be at home to Genoa on May 28, as the curtain finally comes down on a glittering career that spans 25 years.
The striker won the Serie A title once with Roma, in 2001, and lifted the Coppa Italia in consecutive seasons in 2007 and 2008.
He also lifted the World Cup with Italy in 2006, starting the final as the Azzurri beat France on penalties.
