Roma icon Francesco Totti has revealed that he rejected opportunities to make a remarkable return to Serie A at the age of 48, including an approach from Como boss Cesc Fabregas.The revelation comes in Totti’s autobiography, Oltre (Beyond), published on Tuesday. The former Italy international also explains that he turned down Genoa because representing another Italian club would have felt like a betrayal of Roma."I said no to Serie A. I said no to Genoa. I said no to Como. I was 48 years old. The coach of Genoa was Alberto Gilardino, a world champion like me with Italy in 2006, while on the Como bench was already Cesc Fabregas, one of the greats in the history of football," he writes in the book, recalling an episode from around two years ago.🗣️ Totti: 'Genoa and Como really wanted me when I was 48. I started training again like a professional and my body was responding well, I was slower but your foot does not grow old. I was ready to return to the pitch, but I could not betray Roma: sporting betrayal has no age,… pic.twitter.com/O2GZm4XFUB— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) September 22, 2026 ript>At the time, Gilardino was 42 and Fabregas 37, meaning Totti would have been considerably older than both men despite potentially returning as a player.Gilardino and Fabregas would have been six and 11 years younger than the coaches who could have been giving him instructions from the touchline.They are not urban legends, it's the plain truth. Incredible, but true. "Crazy," he adds.Totti, who brought his legendary Roma career to an end in 2017 after spending 25 years with the club, admits that he genuinely considered returning to professional football. His physical condition gave him reason to believe he could still compete, but one question ultimately stood in the way of any comeback: "Can you play for a team that is not Roma?"##EDITORS_CHOICE##"I was 48 years old, okay, but age can somehow be overcome; one becomes slower, but the foot doesn't age. Everyone agrees: he doesn't need Botox. Roma was the point. Not the problem, never will be. A sports betrayal has no age, whether you are 18 or 48 years old," he explains.The former Roma captain and No. 10 also reveals that he did not immediately dismiss the proposals from Genoa and Como. Instead, he gave himself time to consider whether returning to Serie A was genuinely possible and began preparing his body accordingly.Francesco Totti 👑 pic.twitter.com/siZ3QeD1dY— 90s Football (@90sfootball) January 10, 2022 "I continued with the 8-a-side football on Mondays, added three weekly sessions at the gym and two with the physiotherapist, and controlled my diet. No more bread, no more sweets, no more anything. Giving up sweets was really tough… I trained and it wasn't too hard for me, my body responded well, aside from the normal discomforts of someone approaching fifty," he emphasizes.##NAJAVA_MECA_9981013##