Cristiano Ronaldo would have joined Juventus from Sporting Lisbon as a 17-year-old but for a refusal by ex-Chile striker Marcelo Salas to move in exchange, according to former Juve sporting director Gianni Di Marzio.
During Ronaldo’s first season as a senior player at Sporting in 2002-03, many of Europe’s top clubs became interested in the emerging star, with different reports having since claimed that Barcelona, Arsenal and Liverpool all strongly considered moves before he eventually joined Manchester United the following summer.Speaking to EFE, veteran Italian football figure Di Marzio, who was in charge of transfers at Juventus from 2001 to 2006, said that he had even brought Ronaldo to Turin to push through a deal but it had not been possible due to Salas’ refusal to move to Lisbon.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
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