Former Juventus sporting director Gianni Di Marzio has revealed that he was close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2002.
In an exclusive interview to Marca, he explained that he has missed the opportunity due to Marcelo Salas who was not in favor of a swap deal to Sporting Lisbon.
“He was eighteen when I worked at Juventus,” Di Marzio said.
Di Marzio was in Portugal to check on Ricaardo Quaresma but the later has not featured for the club which left Di Marzio in awe of Cristiano skills at that time.
He said: “I called my club and told them I’d seen someone who would be the best player in the world, obviously after Maradona.
“I negotiated and brought Cristiano over to Turin in 2002 to sign for Juve, but Salas didn’t accept the terms of the swap.
“For just a few million euros, Salas didn’t want to leave and so Juventus lost out on Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Salas who joined the club from rivals Lazio in 2001 has played for Old Lady till 2003 before moving back to Argentina.
Meanwhile, a scuppered move for Ronaldo meant he stayed at Sporting Lisbon in 2002-03 season and have played that iconic pre-season friendly match against Manchester United which has paved his way to Old Trafford in 2003.
Despite looking rusty in his initial days at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson was capable enough to transform him into a global superstar and has made him a true legend in Manchester United’s history.
He has then went on to become one of the best players in the world during his time at United which spanned between 2003 and 2008 before making a move to Real Madrid and is now one of the two best players in the world.
Meanwhile, Juventus will surely be unhappy as Ronaldo had transformed into a legendary player in the latter years. However, despite that Juventus have also developed into one of the best teams in Europe and as a sole super giant in Italy over the past decade.