Former Italian International, Francesco Totti has resigned from his role as a director at Serie A outfit, AS Roma after 30 years at the club.

The 42-year-old World Cup winner spent his entire professional career at Roma and retired from playing in July 2017.

Although his relationship with the club president, James Pallotta reportedly deteriorated, Pallota who is an American, last week said he had offered Totti the role of Technical Director of Roma, which finished sixth last season and missed a Champions League placement.

“I resign as a Roma executive. I was hoping that this day never came, instead this ugly and heavy day has arrived.

“I never had the chance to work on the technical area with Roma. This is far worse than retiring as a player. Leaving Roma is like dying. I feel like it’d be better if I died,” Totti said at a news conference which lasted more than an hour .

He however criticized the club’s American ownership and the influence of former director and now club consultant, Franco Baldini on how things were being run at the club.

“This is a club to be loved and supported. There shouldn’t be pro-Totti, pro-Pallotta or pro-Baldini factions. Just Roma fans. As I said, presidents pass, coaches pass, players pass but the flags do not.

“They knew my intentions and what I wanted, to give so much to this club and team but they never wanted me to, in all honesty. They excluded me from every decision.

“The main focus of certain people has been to remove Romans from Roma. In the end, the truth came out because they achieved what they wanted.

Totti joined Roma’s youth academy in 1989, making his senior debut in 1993 as a 16-year-old. He went on to score 307 goals in 785 games, winning Serie A in 2001 and the Coppa Italia twice. He also won 58 caps for Italy.

Totti’s exit also follows that of a former team-mate, Daniele de Rossi, 35, who left the club at the end of last season after 18 years.