The Cottagers used their recent trip to Italy, where they faced Roma in a friendly, to contact his club Palermo, but their offer came too late - as Brescia had already snapped him up on loan.
"We have not been contacted by Fulham directly," revealed his agent Claudio Pasqualin.
"But Palermo director Rino Foschi informed me that there was a very interesting offer from abroad.
"On a mere economic point of view, it would have been more interesting than Brescia's one.
"As you suggest, The Cottagers look to have been the one's interested, but we have not examined any offer, as we already had an agreement with Brescia.
"Filippo is very happy to join the northern Italy club, as it means he has got the chance to play again in Serie A and with a true champion like Roberto Baggio.
"Baggio himself expressed his wish to have my charge in his squad, so that was it."
Maniero, who turns 31 in September, is one of the most experienced players in Italian football, having already represented Palermo, Venezia, Sampdoria, Milan, Parma, Padova, Verona, Ascoli and Atalanta in his career.
Not to miss the chance to play with Baggio in the last season of the Divine Ponytail's career - Maniero also accepted a reduction in his wages, with a clause in his contract stating the rest of the amount could come from the goals he scores.
