Shop
The 33-year-old confirmed during an interview on Facebook that he signed an extension that will keep him with the Giallorossi until 2019, admitting that the agreement had actually been in place for some time.
"It was already in the air and we’ve been discussing it for a while, especially in the last month," De Rossi said. "Today was the best day for it seeing as we’re all going away later.”
He added: “I signed it today but it’s been done for a few days. I requested that it wasn’t mentioned on Sunday because that was a day dedicated to another person [Francesco Totti], to another player, to a story that was coming to an end – although it will never really end.
"We wanted it to be announced afterwards or in advance. The agreement was already there but we signed it today because people have to head off and I’m going away on international duty.”
De Rossi acknowledged that, after the emotional scenes surrounding Totti's farewell on Sunday, he did not feel it would have been in anyone's interests for him to leave as well.
“Part of my thinking was that after Francesco, it would have been a big blow for fans to lose the other symbol of Romanismo," he acknowledged. "There’s Alessandro [Florenzi] too but he has many years to show his love for the club.
"I think losing two stalwarts at once would have been less than the fans deserved.”
Imperium Partners
Centurion Partners
