According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Totti discussed his experience as part of AS Roma's management in his new book "Beyond" and addressed the controversy surrounding Pastore's transfer.

Totti's relationship with AS Roma's management had been tense for years. As a player, he had prolonged disputes with Spalletti, and after failing to renew his contract in 2017, he decided to retire. Totti later joined AS Roma's management during Pallotta's era, but this less-than-two-year period was filled with conflict.

Totti described his situation after retirement: "A few months after retiring, I tried to adapt to my new role in summer 2017, but the club started treating me like a yes-man. More than that, I felt like I was sinking into depression on the sofa. Later, I got closer to the sports department, but I couldn't make any decisions. Even worse, they only let me decide if my choice aligned with Roma's executives."

Totti then spoke about Eusebio Di Francesco, Roma's coach at the time: "The coach was Eusebio. He was my former teammate and I respected him greatly, but I didn't see the club's management showing him the same level of respect. Eventually, our relationship completely fell apart."

Totti disagreed with AS Roma's decision to sign Pastore, believing the same money should have been spent on Ziyech, who was playing for Ajax at the time. Totti wrote: "At that time, the club was preparing to sign Javier Pastore from Paris Saint-Germain, and a special meeting was held to discuss the deal, with Mauro Baldissoni, Monchi, Federico Balzaretti, and Francesco Valone among others in attendance. I expressed my opinion because AS Roma deserved to hear the truth."

Totti recounted: "I said in the meeting that I had nothing against Pastore, but he wasn't suited to Di Francesco's 4-3-3 system. Where would you play him? With his physical condition, he can't play on the wing, and he lacks physicality. If the team wants a player to deliver the final ball, that's fine, but the formation would need to change to 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-1-2."

Totti noted that Baldissoni told him: "You always look for problems. Francesco, you always oppose us." This comment hurt Totti and made him think about leaving AS Roma soon.

Totti continued: "Oppose AS Roma? Me? At that moment, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After the club signed Pastore, I went to Di Francesco and he told me: 'Franchi, I didn't ask for him.' So I went back to management, asking them to tell the truth and not put the coach in an awkward position. Otherwise, he would face enormous pressure at AS Roma. But it was useless. They seemed satisfied anyway."

Totti also said: "I didn't like their approach. During the meeting, they would speak ill of everyone, and who knows what they would say about me when I wasn't there. That wasn't a unified management team."

At the end of the season, Totti left AS Roma and held a press conference at the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters. He concluded: "When I left, I still had two years on my contract. I was too straightforward to stay there any longer."

AS Roma signed Pastore for €25 million with an annual salary of €4.5 million. Pastore played 14 matches in his first season, 11 in his second, and just 5 afterward due to recurring injuries. After Mourinho dropped him from the squad, both sides eventually terminated the contract. Ziyech later moved to Chelsea, where he won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and Club World Cup.

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