Juventus

Gianni Di Marzio: 'Cristiano Ronaldo was on verge of joining Juventus'

By Giuseppe Labellarte, Reporter | 13 February 2017

Cristiano Ronaldo came close to signing for Juventus from Sporting Lisbon in 2002 before the deal fell through, according to former Juve director Gianni Di Marzio.

Former Juventus sporting director Gianni Di Marzio has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo was on the verge of joining the Bianconeri as a youngster in 2002.

The Portugal forward made his breakthrough in 2002 with Sporting Lisbon and a number of top European clubs were all said to be interested in the then-teenager, who eventually moved to Manchester United a year later.

Di Marzio, who was in charge of transfers at Juventus from 2001 to 2006, said that Ronaldo even came to Turin for the deal to be completed, but ex-Chile striker Marcelo Salas, who was supposed to head in the opposite direction, refused to do so.

"When I was working for Juventus, I called Turin and said he was going to be the best player in the world, obviously behind [Diego] Maradona," Di Marzio told Agencia EFE.

"I negotiated [a transfer] and brought Cristiano to Turin in 2002 to sign for Juventus. But [Marcelo] Salas did not accept the swap deal. For a few million euros, Salas did not want to go and he later ended up at River Plate.

"That is how Juventus lost Cristiano Ronaldo. [Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes] knows this story very well."

Ronaldo, now 32, has enjoyed a stellar career at the top of the game with Man United, Real Madrid and the Portugal national team.