How A Failed Swap Deal Stopped Ronaldo From Joining Juventus
REUTERS/Nigel Roddis
Juventus almost signed Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2003, according to Alessandro Moggi, the son of Juventus’ former general director Luciano.
Moggi insisted that while he was working as a football agent, Juventus nearly came to a serious agreement with the Real Madrid talisman, back when he was still playing for the Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon.
When enquired further in an interview with Tuttosport, Moggi proclaimed: “Ronaldo was offered to Parma and Lazio but they rejected a chance to sign him. Juventus wanted to sign him, and I travelled to Lisbon with Jorge Mendes. The idea was to make a swap deal with Marcelo Salas, as Juventus wanted to sell him.
“Trouble is, Portuguese football wasn’t too interesting at the time and we didn’t manage to persuade Salas to move to Portugal. Contracts and papers were ready, Ronaldo was happy because in that moment Juventus were one of the best teams in Europe.
“That day we could have changed the history of European football, maybe Ronaldo could have still been a Juventus player. This is not my biggest regret, however, as Ronaldinho came also close to joining Juve in the past.”
The world-class forward thereafter joined Manchester United, and what followed was an exceptional spell. The 32-year-old had a meteoric rise while proceeding his career at Old Trafford. Under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, Ronaldo flourished to his full potential as a winger.
He then moved on to join Los Blancos in 2009, where he resumed his majestical plays, earning three more Ballon d’Or awards apart from the one he had already won in 2008.
Written by Hritwik NE 
Passionate writer, coated in Blue.