Roma captain Francesco Totti has played down an incident involving imminent new teammate Gerson.

The Fluminense midfielder is in Rome to complete his move. But he has caused controversy when posing with a No10 Totti shirt.

The veteran said: “The greatest hope I can give all the young lads is that they'll one day have the opportunity to wear the Roma number 10, and exchange it with a great player like [Lionel] Messi.

“Everyone should have that opportunity. The number 10 jersey is my second skin, but everyone should be able to have that dream, to wear it, and more importantly to honour it, and make it synonymous with the best sporting achievements."