Francesco Totti revealed he was on the verge of joining Real Madrid | OneFootball

Francesco Totti nearly joined Real Madrid in 2004 but remained at Roma and became a one-club legend in Italy.

Though he nearly left in an attempt to earn more silverware elsewhere, he stayed and earned five trophies at the club.

“My dream was to remain at Roma forever, but then it’s natural when you grow up and realise there are going to be bumps in the road over many years,” he told Er Faina on Instagram.

“Milan started trying to sign me before I even made my debut for Roma. Braida came to my house and wanted to take me to Milan at all costs.

“The time I really was on the verge of leaving was for Real Madrid in 2004-05. I really was on the cusp of that transfer, it was practically all done.

“I wanted to win. We’d won one Scudetto and then lost two straight afterwards. We were slowing down our progress, so I wanted us to buy champions and hire coaches to win trophies.

“I saw a lot of problems. However, Franco Sensi was like a father to me and I gave him everything I possibly could.”

The nature of his exit wasn’t exactly smooth, as Totti, the second-highest goalscorer in Serie A history, claims that club president Jim Pallotta he should have received more respect at the time.

“Pallotta never told me that I wasn’t going to be offered a new contract, he just made sure I got the message. It was disappointing, because I’d done so much for Roma and expected a little more respect.

“The call came, I had two games left and my world collapsed around me. Even if I could feel that I was in the final stages of my career, I still would’ve appreciated more respect.”