Francesco Totti has recently made the sports headlines by sensationally claiming that he has had offers to come out of retirement and play in Serie A at the age of 48.
But the former Roma forward – widely considered to be I Giallorossi’s greatest ever player – is now in the spotlight for a completely different reasons after surprising thousands of Rome locals and tourists by turning up in a gladiator costume to celebrate the upcoming release of Ridley Scott’s long-awaited action sequel Gladiator 2. Totti – who was famously nicknamed as the The Emperor and The Eighth King of Rome by his boyhood club’s fans during his playing career – was caught on camera removing his helmet to allow spectators to catch a glimpse of one of the city’s most famous sons.
The versatile attacker skippered Roma to the Serie A title in 2001 and was also part of the Italy squad that lifted the World Cup in Germany in 2006. After hanging up his boots Totti initially stayed on at the Stadio Olimpico as a club ambassador but has since gone onto business ventures outside of football.
However, just earlier this week, Totti shocked Italian football off by suggesting that could make a return to the top flight. In an interview the Calcio legend was asked about whether his comments were serious and replied: “I wasn’t joking. It was no joke.
“There’s a team. There are one or two teams. Let’s see what my mind tells me and, above all, my body. My mind’s already given me its answer.”
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