Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti tried to raise a smile. Striding out on to the Stadio Olimpico pitch for a farewell address at the end of his last-ever match for Roma, he shushed the home crowd and then teased that staying quiet “ought to be easy for you”.

Roma have confirmed that club legend Francesco Totti will retire at the end of the season, 24 years after he made his first appearance for the Giallorossi.

What was Francesco Totti thinking as he walked off the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, hand stroking at his stubble? Was he saying goodbye, in his own head, to the fixture that has meant the most to him? Was he asking, like the rest of us, ‘can it really end like this’?

Patience is a virtue in the Eternal City. Nobody, though, enjoys being kept in limbo. As a violent storm assaulted the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday afternoon, fans huddled together and waited to find out whether the football match they had been watching was ever going to resume. And then they waited some more.

Francesco Totti has agreed a new one-year contract with Roma. Totti met the club president, James Pallotta, on Tuesday and the 39-year-old has now confirmed that he will play on into a 25th season in the Italian capital.