Roma Icon Totti Claims He'd Personally Give Coveted No.10 Shirt to Lionel Messi Should He Join Club

Roma legend Francesco Totti has claimed that he would personally drive to the airport to meet Lionel Messi with his coveted number ten shirt, should the

Roma legend Francesco Totti has claimed that he would personally drive to the airport to meet Lionel Messi with his coveted number ten shirt, should the Barcelona man agree to a stunning move to join the Serie A side.

In a Q&A session with the club via Sport, Totti, now a director at Roma, was asked about his club's chances of signing Messi this summer. The club legend claimed that he would be so delighted to sign the Argentine ace that he would even be willing to hand over his coveted number to the Barcelona man if he personally picked him up at the airport.

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Roma are under a lot of pressure to appease their fans this summer, after selling Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah to Liverpool last summer, and failing to capture Brazilian sensation Malcom from Bordeaux after Barça hijacked the deal at the final hour. Totti is believed to be a huge admirer of Messi, and would be eager to make a sensational deal happen.

However, it is unlikely that Messi will choose to give up his place at Barcelona for a move to Serie A, given his godlike status at the Camp Nou. 

However, he may be lured in by the possibility of renewing his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo, who completed a £90m move to Juventus earlier in the season.

Roma finished third in Serie A last season, and battled their way to the Champions League semi-final after a famous comeback against Barcelona in the previous round. Juventus have won the last seven league titles on the trot, and I Giallorossi will be determined to bring their rival's dominance of the top tier to end this year.

In other news, Barça boss Ernesto Valverde has claimed that Ousmane Dembélé remains an important part of plans for the upcoming season, despite rumours linking the Frenchman with a move away. The former Borussia Dortmund prodigy was forced to play a bit-part role in his first season at the Camp Nou due to injury, and is believed to be becoming frustrating at the club.