The former Roma captain has responded to criticism over his upcoming visit to the aggressor state.
The legend of Italian football, former captain of Roma Francesco Totti commented on his planned visit to Moscow on April 8, which caused a scandal .
“My working trip to Moscow has been causing endless controversy for several days now, but I am not a politician or a diplomat. I am a man of sport who promotes its values around the world. I have always done so: first as a player, and now in my new role. Over the years, I have traveled to any country where I was invited to talk about sport. And I would have no problem going to Kyiv for the same purpose.
At the same time, if I had received a request from a competent body not to participate in the Moscow event, I would not have hesitated to back down from this idea. Everything else is hypocrisy and speculation by those who want to use my name for their own PR,” Totti told ANSA.
The journalist also wanted to give the Roma legend a symbolic statuette, which in Italy is awarded to athletes, show business stars, and politicians for the most bizarre and ridiculous actions, but Francesco refused to take it.
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Let us recall that Totti caused a loud scandal by announcing his intentions to come to Moscow for the award ceremony, which was being organized by one of the local bookmakers.
The name of the 48-year-old legend of the Roman club was used by Russian propagandists. “The Emperor is going to the Third Rome” – that is how the aggressor state announced Totti's arrival (“The Emperor” is the nickname of Francesco, who played for Roma his entire career).
In Totti's homeland, his upcoming visit to Moscow was condemned. Italian officials and fans called on the “Emperor” to cancel his trip to Russia, which continues to wage a war of conquest against Ukraine.
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.