Totti: I can't stay at Roma like this

Totti has made over 700 appearances for the Serie A side and is club captain, but has been restricted to the role of a squad player.

Roma veteran Francesco Totti is in his 23rd season at the club.

Francesco Totti is considering his Roma future after starting just two Serie A games this season and has stated: "I demand more respect for all I've done here."

Totti has made over 700 appearances for the Serie A side and is club captain, but has been restricted to the role of squad player, best illustrated by the fact he came off the bench for the last three minutes of his side's 2-0 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Coach Luciano Spalletti said in his pre-match news conference that Totti could be in the Roma team for the Serie A game against Palermo on Sunday, but the 39-year-old forward remains frustrated at his first-team prospects.  

"I can't stay at Roma like this," Totti told TG1. "I still feel like a player who is physically in good shape and I want to play. The [thigh] injury [that he sustained in September] is behind me now and if I don't play it is purely down to a tactical decision."

"It hurts to be on the bench. I understand at my age that I play less, but ending my career like this is bad for me as a man and what I've given to Roma. I demand more respect for all I've done here."

"What is my rapport like with Spalletti? We say 'good morning' and 'good evening'. That's it. He said such nice things in the papers, but not to my face. I respect him as a coach and think he has what it takes to remain at Roma."

Totti added: "My contract expires in June, I await news from [president James] Pallotta and will evaluate the situation. I expect the fairness of people telling me the reality of the situation and how things really are."