The Player Sent Off in the 2002 World Cup, Lost 4.7 Billion Won to Gambling Downfall

Separated in 2022 after 17 years of marriage
Hidden assets in US banks exposed during trial

Former Italian football star Francesco Totti (47) has been revealed to have squandered a large sum of money through gambling. On the 13th (local time), the Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that Totti lost 3,324,000 euros (approximately 4.7 billion KRW) at the Monte Carlo Casino from September 2020 to September last year. This statement was made by Totti's spouse, Ilary Blasi (42), through her lawyer during a divorce trial on the same day. The lawyer further claimed that Totti holds several hidden bank accounts, some of which are overseas accounts in the United States and Singapore.

At the press conference for the Korea-Italy-Brazil 'Legend All-Star Game' held last September at the Fairmont Ambassador in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Italy's Francesco Totti is answering questions from the press.
Photo by Yonhap News

Totti married model and TV personality Blasi in 2005 in what was called the "wedding of the century." The wedding, broadcast live on TV, recorded a high viewership rating of 12.29%. The couple has three children. However, they announced their separation in July 2022, after 17 years of marriage. Since then, they have been engaged in a bitter divorce battle, each accusing the other of infidelity as the cause of the divorce. Totti's side claimed that Blasi's affair was with his personal trainer (PT) and demanded a large amount of alimony as part of the divorce settlement.

Blasi's side also revealed on the same day that Totti once left their youngest daughter, 7-year-old Isobel, alone in a hotel while attending an event. In October 2022, when Blasi took all of Totti's luxury Rolex watch collection and left the house, it became a major topic when it was revealed that Totti had hidden Blasi's luxury handbags.

Totti was a key member of the Italian national football team that faced South Korea in the round of 16 during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. Notably, in the match against South Korea, he assisted Christian Vieri's first-half header goal and showed great performance, but was sent off in the first half of extra time due to accumulated warnings from a simulation foul. Italy lost to South Korea by Ahn Jung-hwan's golden goal near the end of extra time. The referee who gave the red card was noted for resembling South Korean actor Im Chae-moo, which became a topic of discussion. Totti is also famous as a 'one-club man,' having played nearly 30 years exclusively for AS Roma.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.