Gianni Di Marzio recently revealed that he was very close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo for Juventus in 2002, but the proposed transfer collapsed because of Marcelo Salas.
The former sporting director claims that the ex-Chilean striker reportedly rejected the swap deal that Juventus offered Sporting Lisbon.
Di Marzio said that Ronaldo was18 when he worked at Juventus: "I called my club and told them I'd seen someone who would be the best player in the world, obviously after Maradona.
"I negotiated and brought Cristiano over to Turin in 2002 to sign for Juve, but Salas didn't accept the terms of the swap. For just a few million Euros, Salas didn't want to leave and so Juventus lost out on Cristiano Ronaldo. His agent knows the story very well."
Real Madrid star Ronaldo has gone on to break numerous records and most recently won Euro 2016 with Portugal to earn his first international silverware. He has been capped 136 times and scored 68 goals, as well as scoring 508 goals in 699 club appearances.
15 years later, one of Di Marzio's old clubs, Napoli, face Ronaldo's Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
He said that: "Napoli have to play football and the result will depend on the gaps Madrid leave, they are fast and with only two passes they can reach the goal.
"Maradona transmits energy to the team, even from the stands. He is an important figure for all the footballers who play for Napoli.
"He was able to gather 80,000 people at the Stadio San Paolo without playing a game, that was just for the simple act of signing for the club and touching the ball a couple of times out on the pitch.He is the god of football, with respect to Messi and everyone else."