Moggi claims he was close to signing Ronaldo for Juventus in 2003

Luciano Moggi claims he was close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus in 2003 but would not have spent €112m on ‘a 33-year-old player’.

Speaking to Corriere dello Sport on Wednesday, Moggi explained how Marcelo Salas’ reluctance to join Sporting CP stopped Ronaldo from arriving as a teenager and felt Juve should have sold Gonzalo Higuain for €50m before bringing in the No 7.

“Ronaldo was Fiat’s signing. Besides, I’d already bought Cristiano Ronaldo,” he told Corriere dello Sport.

“He was 18 and played for Sporting CP at the time. I saw him and the next morning I signed the contract with him.

“The deal was 5bn lira plus Salas, to whom I’d have also given 1bn compensation. But then Salas preferred River Plate and Manchester United came in for Ronaldo.

“At the time there was a real crisis at Juve. We didn’t have a penny. In terms of marketing, it was an extraordinary transfer.

“However, I’d have never have signed a 33-year-old player for the figures involved and I certainly would never have paraded him before selling Higuain, someone who still guarantees you 20 League goals.

“I would’ve sold Higuain for €50m and only after that would I have announced Ronaldo.”