“One day I had a quarrel because I couldn’t find a check, and I accused others of stealing it from me, only to find that it was in my car. I reacted this way because at that moment, I was even afraid of my own shadow,” added the former Roma player.

Antonio Cassano revealed his story on “Passa dal BSMT,” the podcast hosted by Gianluca Gazzoli. The former Bari playmaker has recounted anecdotes from his career in yellow-red and his childhood.

On his relationship with his father: “As a child, he didn’t care about me.” My mother chose me. I have never shared this with anyone before. I have never had a parent. He surfaced again the day after scoring a goal against Inter, on December 19th. I’ve never cared about anything. Because it’s easy to turn to a child when in need.

On the years in yellow and red: “My experience with Roma was wonderful. I remember, when I first arrived Totti and his family took me into their home for the first four months and made me feel like a son. One day, I had a row with him because I couldn’t find a check and I accused him of stealing it. However, it was under the car seat. I reacted like that because at that moment, I was even scared of my own shadow. It was a lot of money. At the time, Francesco was earning three to four times more than me, and when I ran into him, I just didn’t know what to say. Later, we had a tussle when we went on ‘C’è posta per te’, a popular TV show. Then, I was a promising newcomer, just 19 years old. He, at 25, was already one of the strongest players in the world. I had been there and in my madness, thought: why should he receive more than I? After a year, we reconciled, thanks to Vito Scala, his trusted confidant. However, the feud revived when we had to renew our contracts, myself, him, and Montella. I had a gentleman’s agreement with Franco Sensi. I recall how the daughter took charge of the situation, and consequently, that agreement disappeared because I had a dispute with her. The issue was that it appeared Totti and Montella had renewed, but it had not been made official. I found this out when I went into the locker room and ended up berating them both. Montella claimed to have agreed terms but had not yet signed, while Francesco, who’s quite introverted and shy, was somewhat evasive, and we argued. “We had been without communication for six to seven years,” due to me seeing the world my way. “Totti was the player I got along best with”, I’m not certain if our off-pitch rapport played a role. I think there was a qualitatively profound understanding, because even during the period when we didn’t converse, we accomplished some stratospheric achievements on the field.