Monday 27 October 2014 17:25, UK
Juventus managing director Giuseppe Moratta has revealed that the club almost signed Radamel Falcao in the summer.
The Colombian hitman completed a surprise last-minute loan move to Manchester United in the summer, with a permanent deal reportedly in place at the end of the season.
However, Marotta has revealed that talks had taken place between Falcao’s representatives and the Old Lady hierarchy before the 20-time English top-flight champions stepped in.
"We were following him and there was contact," Marotta told RAI TV.
"We were very close to (signing) Falcao and the player preferred Italy and our colours, but then United came forward and they have much more spending power than we do so the deal broke down."
Marotta also accepted that Italian clubs now struggle to attract the top players in the world, which has affected the standard of football on show.
"The quality of our league has fallen behind," Marotta added.
"Serie A used to be the league everybody strived to play in, but it's no longer like that today. The best players want to play abroad."
