Francesco Totti: "Real Madrid wanted me at all costs: they were the only team I could leave Roma for"

In a recent interview to Corriere dello Sport, Francesco Totti revealed a lot about his illustrious career. From Real Madrid to Antonio Cassano, he talked about different aspects of his life that many of us may not know about "Il Re di Roma": On Real Madrid's interest: "Real Madrid was pushing to get me at all costs: it was the only team in the world that I, reluctantly, could leave Roma for. I thought about it very seriously. But, in the end, my family, friends, and wife helped me to understand many things, so I stayed here. And I consider that to be a godsend." On his time with the Italian national team: "Euro 2000. That cucchiaio penalty kick came in my mind during the week, with Maldini, Di Biagio, Inzaghi. At the end of practice, we'd practice penalties. Joking with Maldini, Albertini and Nesta, I said, 'If we go to penalties, I'll do a cucchiaio.' And they immediately thought I was crazy, it's the Euro semifinals. Then, we went to penalties. I was at midfield, and everyone was watching me. Di Biagio shook his head at me. I walked to the box: the road was long, and in front of me, there was an orange wall. Van der Sar was 3.5 meters tall. I thought: 'he covers the entire goal, now what do I do?' But I told them I would do it, I knew I couldn't go back on my word: thankfully he dove the other way, or else they would have killed me." Best player he's ever played with? The "Pibe di Bari": "Technically, Cassano: we'd talk on the field about everything. Even off the pitch, we have a great relationship. , We're talking about one of the players who's not only the best in Italy, but even in Europe, because technically he's a phenomenon. After him, Batistuta, Montella: those are players who made football history and I had was very lucky to play together with them." On his relationship with Spalletti: "I have a good relationship with him. A relationship that goes beyond football: he's a great person, he has his own values that have done a lot for me. He's a person that want's to win, a coach that has an above-average football culture. For me, Roma made a great investment in bringing back this coach." @GIANMARCalciO