Reasons Why Roma Love Totti

Francesco Totti turns 40 today, the striker having signed a 12-month contract extension with his beloved Roma in June to ensure he will retire as a one-club man. 

"I firmly wanted this contract, my dream is now true," he told Roma TV. "I always hoped to play my entire career in only one shirt, the shirt of AS Roma." UEFA.com explains why half of the Italian capital chose him as their king.

He never deserted the club
A debutant under Vujadin Boškov in 1993, Totti has only had eyes for the Giallorossi. "Roma is everything to me, everything a person can want: passion, love, joy – the team I have always supported and always will," he once told UEFA.com.

That commitment, allied to his class as a forward, have helped create Totti's legend. If his trophy haul at Roma has been fairly modest – one Scudetto, two Italian Cups – his reputation is huge.

Lionel Messi notably posted a photo of himself and Totti together on Instagram after last summer's Trofeu Joan Gamper with the caption: "UN GRANDE !!! Qué fenómeno !!!"

His selflessness and sense of humour
A goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2003, Totti has taken his role seriously; from publishing a best-selling, and famously self-effacing, joke book to singing songs and recently playing an exhibition tennis match with Novak Djoković, the forward has been dedicated to the cause.

Even the Messi shirt he received from Barcelona went to a charity auction rather than his personal collection.

Nor is he selfish when it comes to his own jersey. There would be justification for Roma retiring Totti's No10 shirt when he eventually goes, yet the 58-times Italian international will not hear of it.

"The No10 is like a second skin for me, but everybody should have a chance of wearing it and above all honouring it by achieving the highest possible goals," he said when Roma fans grumbled about newly arrived 18-year-old Brazilian Gerson having the temerity to pose in a Roma No10 top last year.