AS Roma icon Francesco Totti has officially announced his retirement from football as a player as he confirmed that he is set to become a director at the capital club.

Totti, 40, has played for AS Roma throughout his career spanning 24 years. He played his last game in May at the end of the 2016/17 season and had hinted then that he could continue to play football abroad but that has been shelved in favour of a director’s role at the club he joined as a schoolboy (AS Roma).

Speaking via a statement released, Totti said: “The first part of my life, as a player, has ended.”

“But now I’m heading into an equally important part, hoping to do as well as I did on the field.” he added.

Francesco Totti made his debut for AS Roma in 1993 aged 16 and won the Italian Serie A title eight years later with his boyhood club. His last (786th) appearance for the club was as a substitute in a 3-2 league win over Genoa.

Speaking further, he said: “I never wanted that game to end, that day to end.”

“Now I’ll try to make myself available… from the youth team to the president. It might take six months, a year, two years… I don’t know how long it will take to find the role I prefer.” Totti, who is the leading goalscorer in AS Roma history with 307 goals, stated.