Roma Offers FrancescoTotti Three Alternatives

With club president James Pallotta set to hold a private meeting with Francesco Totti, it appears as though our consternation over the continued fallout from the Spalletti-Totti feud has been, or soon will be, allayed. Following Totti's criticism of his current role with the club, and Spalletti's subsequent one-week banishment of the legendary Totti, Pallotta has stepped up with a reconciliation plan; call it the three points of light.

So, since this is pretty much unprecedented in club history, and since we're all sick of talking about it at length, let's do a quick item analysis of Pallotta's plea for peace.

Option Number One: Assistant coach under Spalletti

Presumably at the start of next season, we'd see Totti saddled up alongside Aurelio Andreazzoli, barking instructions at whatever reclamation project happens to be playing rightback for Roma next season.

While this might have been a suitable solution for a player of lesser stature, I mean, come on, seriously? Totti has given no indication he intends to pursue a coaching career, so the mere thought of him donning a track suit, holding a clipboard and consoling Salih Ucan as he rides the pine is too much to bear.

Next.

Option Number Two: Club Director

Now, as Spalletti himself alluded to, this is a bit of a vague descriptor. Would he merely be a figurehead, an ambassador of the club or would he have an actual say in the day-to-day operations of the club? Would having such an icon dissuade other executives from joining the club, and for that matter, is Totti even cut out for such a position?

Depending on how this role forms, this could be a dignified post-playing career for Totti, but it also speaks to the heart of the matter: he's not ready or willing to be put out to pasture yet, leading us to

Option Number Three: Keep Playing

While this seems like the most likely option, the real point of contention would be for how long and in what role? And will the club, or does the club, have to treat a soon to be 40-year-old Totti differently than any other reserve? If they can't solve that last riddle, they run the risk of repeating last week's gaffe for an entire season, a situation that would stain all parties involved.

At this point, this feud has been dissected to death, so barring any substantial developments we'll just leave it at that. Despite all the bluster and Taylor Swift-esque bad blood, chances are they'll settle on some one-year contract extension. Given that Totti isn't even close to being the club's highest player, Roma can still extract a lot of financial value out of a one-year deal, and if the club reloads like we all hope this summer, 15-20 minutes of Totti every other week or so will still provide a lethal injection of talent, creativity and inspiration.