That would have been crazy if it had really happened. Francesco Totti could have made his comeback for a Serie A club at the age of 48(!). There were apparently at least inquiries, as the 2006 Italian world champion has now confirmed.

He had actually hung up his boots back in 2017. But that apparently did not stop some clubs from making an inquiry in October 2024. “I turned Genoa down. I turned Como down. I was 48 years old. Genoa’s coach was Alberto Gilardino, like me a world champion with Italy in 2006, while Cesc Fàbregas was already on the bench at Como. Gilardino was 42, Fàbregas 37 — so I would have been six and eleven years older respectively than the people being paid to tell me what to do. These are not fairy tales, this is the plain truth. Incredible, but true. Crazy,” Totti revealed in his newly released autobiography 'Oltre' (quote via 'Corriere della Sera').

Genoa had been the first to get in touch. Totti said he spoke directly with those in charge. “They were absolutely serious about it,” he recalled.

He said he took his time with the decision and had even started training again. He also began watching his diet again: “No more bread, no sweets, nothing at all. Giving up sweets was extremely hard.”

The training did not feel difficult at all, and his body handled it well. “Apart from the normal aches and pains of a man nearing 50,” Totti joked. But he said he pushed himself like a pro. Even so, there were also days when he had doubts. “My head said I could say yes, my heart said no. Then the roles reversed: my thoughts put on the brakes and my pulse sped up. In the end, though, it always came down to the same question I asked myself: can you even play for a team other than Roma?” he reflected. It was not his age that stood in his way, but his love for his former club.

“Roma was the deciding factor. Not the problem — it never will be. Sporting betrayal knows no age, whether you are 18 or 48,” Totti ultimately explained about his rejection of the Serie A clubs.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.