Francesco Totti has revealed that Ronaldo Nazário is the player he most regrets never playing alongside, claiming the legendary Brazilian could have scored “400 or 500 goals” with the former Roma captain supplying him.
Speaking to Corriere dello Sport as part of an interview marking his 50th birthday, Totti also discussed Diego Maradona, his unique understanding of the game and his importance to Italy’s 2006 World Cup victory.
Meanwhile, another extract from his autobiography, Oltre, has revealed the former number 10’s opposition to Roma’s decision to sign Javier Pastore in 2018.
Totti: “Imagine How Much Fun Ronaldo and I Would Have Had”
Totti was asked which player he would have most enjoyed sharing the pitch with during his career.
“I would have liked to play with Ronaldo, ‘Il Fenomeno,’” Totti said. “Imagine how much fun we would have had together. With me playing behind him, he would have scored 400 or 500 goals—with his eyes closed.”
When asked whether the potential partnership could have resembled his relationship with Antonio Cassano at Roma, Totti rejected the comparison.
“They would have been two different things.”
Totti then named Diego Armando Maradona as the one player who remains beyond comparison.
“Maradona is football. He is the ball. There are no rivals. Everyone else comes after him.”
Totti Reflects on His Unique Football Intelligence
Totti also discussed his ability to anticipate situations and understand the movements of his teammates before they unfolded.
“Most of the time, I got it right,” he said. “But the players alongside me were also very good because they understood what I had thought one second earlier. I’m talking about Delvecchio, Perrotta and Cassano.”
That connection allowed Roma to create attacking moves almost instinctively.
“As soon as the ball reached them from a defender, they knew which movement I was going to make. That is natural talent. Not everyone has it—in fact, nobody has it.
“I am being objective because every player has his own way of interpreting the game, his own technique and his own thinking, but I have never seen anybody else do the things that I did.”
The comments arrive as Roma continue celebrating the extraordinary career behind Totti’s enduring records and legacy at the age of 50.
Totti: “Without Me, Italy Would Not Have Won the World Cup”
The former Roma captain also reflected on Italy’s triumph at the 2006 World Cup, which he played shortly after recovering from a serious ankle injury.
“If I had not participated, Italy would not have won,” Totti said. “If I had only won one Scudetto, two Coppa Italia trophies, two Supercoppe and a European Golden Shoe, I would have remained—as we say in Rome—confined inside the ring road.
“But that did not happen, also because winning a World Cup is not something everybody achieves. I won it—we won it—but during that World Cup, I was, in quotation marks, impaired. I was at 40 or 50 per cent.”
Despite his physical condition, Totti featured in all seven of Italy’s matches, scoring the decisive penalty against Australia and contributing four assists during the tournament.
Totti Reveals He Opposed Roma’s Pastore Signing
In a separate revelation from Oltre, Totti recalled his frustration at having little decision-making power during his time as a Roma director.
“In practice, I could not decide anything,” he wrote. “Or worse, they allowed me to make decisions only when my choice was the same as that of Roma’s highest-ranking executives.”
Totti used Roma’s signing of Javier Pastore from Paris Saint-Germain as one of the clearest examples.
During a meeting involving Mauro Baldissoni, Monchi, Federico Balzaretti and Francesco Vallone, Totti questioned how Pastore would fit into Eusebio Di Francesco’s 4-3-3.
“I have nothing against Pastore,” Totti said. “But he has nothing to do with Di Francesco’s system. Where do you play him in a 4-3-3 at that moment?”
According to Totti, Roma would have needed to change to a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-1-2 to give Pastore a suitable role.
Totti Details Heated Exchange With Baldissoni
Totti claimed his objection prompted a strong response from Baldissoni.
“You always see problems, Francesco. You are always against us,” the executive allegedly said.
The accusation deeply affected Totti.
“Against Roma? Me? I did not know whether to laugh or cry.”
Totti also wrote that Di Francesco privately told him he had not requested Pastore’s arrival.
“Francè, I didn’t ask for him,” the coach reportedly said.
The former captain then urged Roma’s executives to accept responsibility for the transfer and protect the coach from the inevitable criticism.
“Tell the truth. Do not throw our coach into the circus—they will eat him alive here in Rome.”
Totti concluded with a blunt assessment of Roma’s hierarchy at the time: “It was not a united management group.”
The Pastore account is among several previously unknown Roma stories revealed by Totti, who also recently explained how he recommended Santiago Castro to Gian Piero Gasperini.
Sources: Corriere dello Sport; Francesco Totti’s autobiography, “Oltre”
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