Francesco Totti picked up the Uefa President’s Award at Thursday’s Champions League group stage draw in Monaco.
The former Italian international called time on his playing days at the end of last season, having spent the entirety of his club career at AS Roma.
Also present in Monte Carlo was one of Totti’s countrymen, Gianluigi Buffon. A beaten finalist with Juventus in last year’s Champions League campaign, Buffon picked up the competition’s best goalkeeper award for the 2016/2017 season.
With Totti assisting with the draw after picking up his award, many watching on television noticed the 40-year-old’s reaction to the news that – partly thanks to him – Buffon’s Juventus side would be facing Barcelona in the group stages. Totti was seen smirking in the direction of the Italian number one as the news was confirmed, as can be seen in the video below.
https://twitter.com/AbdullaYR_/status/900769764221603840
Of course, if last season is anything to go by, Buffon and teammates shouldn’t be too concerned at the prospect of facing the Spanish giants. Having completed a miraculous turnaround against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16s last season, Barca were beaten 3-0 in their quarter final first leg against Juve in Turin. In the second leg, they were held 0-0.
Since then, it could be said that both teams have been weakened. While Barca have seen Neymar complete a world record transfer to PSG, Leonardo Bonucci, a key component of the Italian champions’ back line in recent years, moved to AC Milan.
