Retired Totti ready for management role

Jul 19, 2017 06:00 am

Francesco Totti has confirmed his retirement as a player by accepting a directorship role with Roma.

The 40-year-old Italian, who represented the Giallorossi for 24 years as a striker, played his last game for the Serie A club in May but his status since had been uncertain as he fielded offers.

In an interview published on Roma's official website on Monday, Totti admitted his illustrious on-pitch career was a thing of the past and that a new life in football management awaited him.

He said: "The end of my playing career was May 28, 2017. That for me was an historic day. The first part of my life as a player has ended but now I'm heading into an equally important part as a manager, hoping to do as well as I did on the field."

Totti made his debut as a 16-year-old in 1993 and won the Scudetto once, in 2001. His 786th and final appearance for Roma was as a substitute in a 3-2 league win over Genoa at the Olimpico. He was reportedly close to making a swansong switch to China or Major League Soccer but has instead hung up his boots.

"Now I'll try to make myself available... from the youth team to the president. It might take six months, a year, two years... I don't know how long it will take to find the role I prefer," he said.  - PA SPORT