Francesco Totti considered leaving Roma for Real Madrid

The historic captain of Roma, Francesco Totti, admitted in an open letter that "there was a moment, twelve years ago" when he considered the possibility of leaving Roma and "going to play for Real Madrid", although in the end he preferred to stay in his beloved team.

"There was a moment, twelve years ago, when I considered the possibility of leaving Roma and going to play for Real Madrid. When a successful club, perhaps the best in the world, wants you, you start thinking about how your life would be in another place," Totti wrote in a letter published on "The Player's Tribune" website.

"I talked about it with the president of Roma (Franco Sensi) and that made a difference. And the conversation I had with my family made me remember what life is about," he added.

The captain of Roma, who will retire at the end of this 2016/17 season, also informed that the first club to pursue him was Milan.

"27 years ago, someone knocked on the door of our apartment in Rome. My mother Fiorella opened it. The people behind that door could have changed my career. (...) They were from Milan and absolutely wanted me to play for their team," Totti wrote.

"My mother was the boss and still is. Like all Italian mothers, she defends her children a lot, and in fact, she didn't want me to leave for fear that something would happen to me. She said no to those directors," he emphasized.

As for his debut with the Roma shirt, Totti said that on that day he was "dominated by the pride of representing his city" and that in 25 years of his career, that "pressure and privilege has never changed".

To those who ask why he has stayed his whole life in Rome, Totti replies that for him, his city "is the world".

"Rome represents my family, my friends, the people I love. Rome is the sea, the mountains, the monuments. It is also the Romans. It is yellow and red. Rome, for me, is the world," he emphasized.