Do we like them?

Do we like Francesco Totti?

Our score: 6 out of 10. Decent on what we could verify, but one contested paid trip and a thin record keep him mid-table.

Totti is the one-club hero of Roman football, still known as the club's former captain and still being courted by the club. Italian outlets in March described Roma preparing an operational role for him, which says plenty about how much he is still wanted in the Eternal City.

The biggest stoush of his recent years was a 2025 trip to Moscow. He was invited by the boss of a Russian online betting platform to a sports awards night, and the organiser said the fee was in the six-figure euro range. Opposition politicians and fans in Italy condemned it, with some accusing him of helping the Putin regime launder its image.

Totti's answer was that he was going “not as a politician but as a sportsman”, and that he would gladly go to Kyiv too. He also said he would step back if official institutions asked him not to go. Where you land depends on whether you read that as a sportsman staying out of politics or as a paycheque with a political cost.

On the harm check, we found no anti-LGBTQ+ remarks, no attacks on women or migrants, and no climate or vaccine conspiracy talk from him. In 2013 he spoke up against abuse in stadiums, saying certain things should no longer be seen on pitches. The gaps matter here: the searches did not turn up his recent projects or his political donations, so this is a lighter file than we would like.

Italian media have also carried a long-running tangle of tabloid territory stories about his split and money. Without a court outcome from a page we could open, we have left those out, and the same goes for older claims by former opponents. The verdict rests on what could be sourced: popular, no pattern of harm found, one questionable gig.