Even though Saturday’s match against Atalanta is now very close, the Ranieri-Gasperini issue is dominating the conversation at Trigoria.
Even the possibility of Francesco Totti’s return to the club seems to have been put on the back burner for now.
Dan Friedkin has offered the former captain a one-year contract valid only for the club’s centenary, along with the role of ambassador for Roma.
However, this proposal hasn’t convinced the former number 10, who would have preferred a more central role within the club.
Contact between the parties has cooled in recent weeks, with no updates or phone calls, and the situation at Trigoria has become so tense that Dan Friedkin may decide to make a surprise visit to the Fulvio Bernardini training center in the next few hours.
According toLa Repubblica, for the American owners, Totti represents only a symbolic figure, without an operational role in the club’s organizational structure.
The former captain, however, appears unwilling to take on a representative role and would have preferred a more concrete commitment, such as a role in the youth team or alongside the first team, with the idea of developing a sporting project over the next two years.
“I’m not coming to be Romulus,” the former number 10 reportedly confided to friends. Gasperini, for his part, envisioned Totti’s role as a center back, close to the coach.
The maneuver to approach Totti began in the commercial sector, with Michael Gandler’s team contacting the former captain for the centenary, but without informing the Friedkins.
This move prompted the American owners to intervene directly to realign the situation and, if necessary, not follow through on the deal.
