It's not exactly a secret that, as a teenager, Cristiano Ronaldo was on the shopping list of every major club in Europe before signing for Manchester United in 2003. However, a year prior to arriving at Old Trafford the four time Ballon d'Or winner was on the verge of signing for Juventus.
The Serie A giants appeared to have stolen a march on the rest of Europe by having the future Portugal captain flown to Turin by Gianni Di Marzio, in 2002 where the plan was to negotiate a deal whereby Juve's Chilean striker Marcelo Salas would go in the opposite direction.
Credit: Ronaldo -ROC Live Life Loud
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Salas, however, wasn't interested in being used as a makeweight in a deal for a 17-year-old, and turned down the opportunity to play for Sporting CP.
Speaking to EFE, Di Marzio explained, "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.
"I negotiated 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.
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"That is how Juventus lost Cristiano Ronaldo. [His agent Jorge Mendes] knows this story very well."
Marcelo Salas, pictured here celebrating one of his four goals in a Juventus shirt. Image: PA
A bit part player with 'The Old Lady' during his time there, Salas scored a grand total of four goals in two injury ravaged seasons for Juventus, following a prolific three years with Lazio. His decision to spurn a move to Sporting, thus freeing up space for one of the world's most exciting young prospects to join Juve, is no doubt a decision that infuriated the 'Bianconeri' hierarchy, who a year later managed to offload the great Chilean striker to River Plate in Argentina.
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Ronaldo, of course, would go onto lift three Premier League titles, a Champions League, a FIFA Club World Cup an FA Cup, a League Cup and a Ballon d'Or during his six years at Old Trafford, before signing for Real Madrid for a then world record fee of £80m in 2009, netting the Red Devils a profit of £68m. That would have about covered Juve's legal fees for the Calciopoli trial of 2006.
(H/T Goal)
Topics: Football, Manchester United, Sporting CP, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo