AS Roma Youngster Remembers Being Starstruck After Francesco Totti Welcomed Him to Italy

AS Roma winger Cengiz Ünder has said that he felt like "a fan meeting an idol" when Italian legend Francesco Totti welcomed him to the club over the summer.

The Turkish international completed a £12m move to Rome after impressing a number of European clubs at Süper Lig sideMedipol Basaksehir. 

The 20-year-old received a warm welcome at the Stadio Olimpico from Il Gladiatore and has revealed that he was starstruck when meeting the Roma icon.

"I still can’t quite believe it. He is a legend, an inspiration. Having Totti welcome me to Roma on my first day here is difficult to even describe," Ünder told The Guardian.

“I can’t tell you how excited I was. I felt like a fan meeting an idol, he has that effect. I even asked if we could take a photograph together, which I uploaded straight on to Instagram.

"Totti is something else, he represents something more than football. On and off the field he is a legend. He is a name synonymous with Roma. It is impossible not to feel a connection to the club when you walk into your first training session and get welcomed by Totti.

“Later that day Murat Ozguven [his translator] came over and told me Totti would like a one-to-one chat once I have settled in and learned Italian. 

"I told him I want to live up to the standard he set at Roma and be loved by the fans as he is. Totti then told me: ‘I have faith in you, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.’”