Francesco Totti decided to disgrace his name by visiting a terrorist country.
Italian football legend and former Roma midfielder Francesco Totti has caused a huge scandal with his plans to come to Moscow for an award ceremony organised by one of the local bookmakers.
This was reported by the Financial Times.
Recently, a video was spotted on media facades in the Russian capital announcing the upcoming arrival of the 48-year-old Italian.
“The Emperor is going to the Third Rome,” the message on the screen reads. It should be noted that “The Emperor” is the nickname of Totti, who played for Roma his entire career.
Francesco #Totti andrá in #Russia il prossimo April 8, ospite d'onore di un evento sportivo. In immagina del'ex capitano della #Roma è apparsa su diversi cartelloni di Mosca. #Tg1 Alessandra Barone pic.twitter.com/aLT2rndSUb
— Tg1 (@Tg1Rai) March 15, 2025
In addition, a video was distributed on Instagram in which Francesco himself confirms that he is going to come to Moscow.
“That's right, I'm going to Moscow on April 8. I'll take part in the (bookmaker's office – ed.) Prize. I don't know what you've come up with there, but I'll support the cool idea,” Totti said in a video message.
In Italy, they were outraged by Totti's plans to visit a terrorist country that continues to wage an aggressive war against Ukraine. Well-known officials and fans are calling on the “Emperor” to cancel his trip to Russia.
“Francesco, Rome loves you for your heart and generosity: don't let them be associated with those who despise human rights and democracy,” said Andrea Massaroni, Rome coordinator of the small liberal More Europe party.
Marco Setaccioli, a civil servant and pro-Ukrainian activist, wrote that by traveling to the aggressor state, Totti “is reduced to being Putin's propaganda minstrel.”
Italian social media users note that the legendary footballer “sold himself for Russian rubles.”
“Putin was wrong, he should have launched the invasion of Europe from Italy, it would have taken three days. After three years of war that took thousands of lives and kidnapped thousands of children… there are Italians who are coming to bow to Putin's regime.”
“Francesco Totti, I don't know how consciously, is being subjected to Putin's imperialist propaganda. He was invited to Moscow to an event dedicated to sports and betting under the slogan “The Emperor is going to the Third Rome”. The Third Rome is the imperialist name for Moscow. Horrible.”
“I'll just say: “It's a pity…” I respected Totti as a footballer (and will continue to respect him), but also as a person. After this, for me, he can stay in the Russian Federation. Today, people sell themselves for anything, he could have thought about this earlier – Berlusconi would have showered him with gold.”
Totti is the former captain of Roma, whose colours he defended throughout his career, from 1992 to 2017. Francesco is the 2006 World Champion and the 2000 European Vice-Champion as part of the Italian national team. With the Roman club, he won Serie A in the 2000/01 season, and also lifted the Cup (2006/07, 2007/08) and the Italian Super Cup (2001, 2007) twice.
It should be noted that Totti is not the first football star that Russia has lured with money during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After 2022, Emmanuel Adebayor and Cafu attended a similar event in Moscow.