Cristiano Ronaldo Was Offered to Napoli, Says Sporting Director

Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli has joined team owner Aurelio De Laurentiis in saying Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo was also offered to the Partenopei in summer.

Speaking to Sky Italia (h/t Football Italia), the director said agent Jorge Mendes approached Napoli, but a look at the numbers involved in the deal made it clear the Partenopei could not afford the Portugal international:

"He was offered to us, it's true.

"We have a good relationship with [agent Jorge] Mendes, and since [Faouzi] Ghoulam's renewal we speak often.

"He offered him to De Laurentiis and to me, I stayed silent. Then when we looked deeper into it we realised it was a deal that was out of reach.

"Juventus? At the moment they're the best team in Europe, so it'd be a dream to finish ahead of them. It's something very difficult, but we must and want to believe."

Per Football Italia, De Laurentiis has also said Mendes approached Napoli.

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The 33-year-old Ronaldo moved to Juventus in the summer after a successful spell with Spanish giants Real Madrid. He needed a few matches to find his feet, scoring his first two goals in his fourth Serie A appearance against Sassuolo, but he has since been in excellent form.

The current Serie A top scorer with 14 goals, he was at his best once again in Juventus' final match of 2018 against Sampdoria:

Napoli have enjoyed a fine first half of the season, powered by their top scorer Arkadiusz Milik, who has 10 goals. But despite their strong form, the Partenopei chase the Bianconeri by nine points, and the Serie A title race already seems decided at the halfway stage.

Ronaldo showed no regrets looking back on 2018:

His time in Italy will ultimately be decided by Juventus' fate in Europe. The Bianconeri have won seven straight Serie A titles, and while Napoli are formidable foes, they likely would have been favourites yet again even without Ronaldo.

Juventus haven't lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy since the 1995-96 campaign, however, and are desperate for success on the biggest stage. Ronaldo has already won the tournament five times and could join Clarence Seedorf as the only player to win it with three different clubs.

Seedorf did so with Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan, while Ronaldo has already won it with Manchester United and Real.