Cristiano Ronaldo could potentially have been a Napoli player but club president Aurelio De Laurentiis decided not to proceed with transfer negotiations after the player was offered.
The 33-year-old was announced as a Juventus player at a special press conference on Monday after he joined from Real Madrid for €112 million but it has now been suggested that La Vecchia Signora were not the first club to try and sign him from Los Blancos.
La Gazzetta dello Sport report that De Laurentiis initially received a phone call from Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes in May about the Portuguese superstar being keen to leave Los Merengues and there were a few discussions afterwards that took place in regards to such a transfer.
A possible deal including the transfer fee and yearly wages would have cost Napoli around €350m, which is above the club’s turnover and the Ciucciarelli president had tried to add a few contractual clauses that would have included extra payments towards the club to avoid sending the club into any financial jeopardy.
Ronaldo spent nine seasons at Real Madrid, winning four Champions League titles with the Spanish giants before switching to Juventus.
