«Spalletti? I’m sorry she went like this, I would like to clarify »-Corriere.it

It took five years, many things said and at least as many unsaid, a TV series (I was hoping de died earlier) and a lot of coldness. Then, one evening in December, a few days before Christmas and a few days away from the World Cup final, Francesco Totti extends his hand to his bitter enemy Luciano Spalletti. «I’d like to talk to him again and clarify – he tells live on Twitch on the “BepiTv1” channel -. With the relationship we had… I’m sorry that happened. He will definitely happen. I expressed myself to the fullest with him, we had a relationship that went beyond the pitch. I am sorry to have interrupted the relationship with him, for me he remains one of the best coaches around ».

Francesco Totti opens to a reconciliation with Luciano Spalletti, the coach with whom he abruptly broke off any relationship in his last year as a footballer. But he doesn’t skimp on a few jabs at the former Giallorossi coach. Starting, for example, with that quarter of an hour granted in Madrid in 2016 in the Champions League: «Did he only give me 16 minutes? I was lucky that day. That standing ovation will always stay with me.” The bitterness in the mouth for those last two yellow and red seasons punctuated by discussions with the coach remain: «The better I was, the less I was taken into consideration. Every time I came in I scored or assisted and the match against Turin, when I came in and scored two goals, was a joy that I put down only to the Scudetto and the World Cup.”

His career epilogue reminds him of Cristiano Ronaldo, unemployed after the termination of the contract with Manchester United, and eliminated from the World Cup with a trail of controversy due to the scarce use: «From the outside it seems to me a bit like seeing my story, but from the outside it is difficult to judge. Only they know what happened, but we are talking about one of the two or three best in the world and therefore he deserves respect». Just as Spalletti deserves respect. Totti confesses his appreciation for the work that the Tuscan coach is doing this year in Naples: «I like him very much in Naples and it shows that he is still one of the strongest coaches around. If the team listens to him he can go far. No one puts the team as well on the pitch as he does».