After planting the seed several times during Real Madrid's failed bid to capture La Liga title, it became conceivable this season could be Ronaldo's last in the Spanish capital. In the end, Real Madrid were able to lift a continental trophy, but even that wasn't enough to dissuade the star striker from departing in the summer. As you may know, Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Serie A champions Juventus on a 4-year deal, but apparently it wasn't his first choice out of all his endless options.
According to a report out Italy, Napoli and not Juventus, was Ronaldo's first choice. The report states that Ronaldo's agent contacted the Naples football club in the hopes of starting a dialogue. Napoli officials expressed tons of interest but were put off by the players incredible wage demands.
Napoli's sporting director Aurelio De Laurentiis basically hinted that a move would risk bankrupting the club. He is quoted as saying: "Ronaldo was offered to Napoli. (Jorge) Mendes, his agent, telephoned me. We planned to make an offer, and we would have paid CR7 with a percentage of the funds guaranteed by his arrival. The €350 million that Juventus will invest is beyond our reach. We would have risked pushing the club towards bankruptcy."
Alas, both club and player made the logical choice. Bear in mind, Napoli does not have the same positional strength as Real Madrid. To believe Cristiano Ronaldo would have made up the balance of Champions League-calibre roster, is completely absurd.
