Daniele De Rossi renews contract with Roma for another 2 years

Rome: Roma captain Daniele De Rossi signed a two-year contract extension on Wednesday, claiming any other decision would have been “too big a blow” following the departure of club legend Francesco Totti.

The move should enable him to take over the captain’s armband from Totti.

De Rossi said on Wednesday: “It’s been done for a few days but I asked that it not be mentioned Sunday because that was a day dedicated to another player and I preferred to make it official later.”

Totti played his final match with Roma on Sunday.

Like Totti, the 33-year-old De Rossi, who with 6 million euros (Dh24.6 million) a year is reported to earn the biggest salary in Serie A, is from Rome and has played his entire career with his hometown club.

A versatile midfielder, De Rossi has made 561 appearances for Roma and scored 59 goals.