Roma legend Francesco Totti has stated that Lionel Messi would not have won eight Ballon d’Or awards if he had spent his entire career at the Serie A club.
Totti, who spent his entire 25-year playing career with Roma, shared his thoughts in his autobiography, Gladiator. He revealed that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had attempted to make him the highest-paid player in the world in 2001, but his deep love for Rome and the club kept him from making the move to Spain.
Speaking on the Viva El Futbol podcast, Totti said, “I never thought about playing for another team. It wouldn’t have made sense. Only [Paolo] Maldini and I played 25 years with the same club.”
Totti also discussed Messi, adding, “Do you really think that if Messi had spent 25 years at Roma with [Alessandro] Frau, Cesar Gomez, and [Matteo] Pivotto, he would have won all those Ballon d’Ors?”
