Talk of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid to complete a lucrative switch to Serie A champions Juventus has been laughed off by Luciano Moggi.
With the Portuguese superstar having hinted that his future could lie away from the Santiago Bernabeu, transfer talk has built steadily since the 2018 Champions League final.
Various landing spots have been mooted for Ronaldo, with Juve considered to be in the mix alongside former club Manchester United and big-spending French outfit Paris Saint-Germain.
Moggi, once a managing director of the Turin giants, is, however, of the opinion that the money being discussed for a five-time Ballon d’Or winner would be better invested elsewhere.
He told Sportitalia of the Ronaldo rumours: “It makes me laugh.
“Juve's problem is not Ronaldo, it's putting together the defence and the midfield.
“For me they would be wrong to get Cristiano with a €30 million salary.
“Everyone should remember that I had a deal to buy him as a kid, Ronaldo, but [Marcelo] Salas said no, so it didn’t happen.”
Alessandro Moggi revealed in October 2017 that Juve had an agreement with Sporting for Ronaldo while he was still a teenager, but Salas’ reluctance to move to Portugal scuppered the deal.
It may be that they get their man at the second time of asking, but it would take considerable funds and effort to lure him away from Madrid.
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Elsewhere, Moggi is also an interested observer of the long-running saga which has seen Maurizio Sarri relieved of his managerial duties at Napoli amid intense links to Chelsea.
No deal has been done as yet for a man who remains tied to a contract in Naples, but it may be that a remarkable trade agreement is completed as Aurelio De Laurentiis seeks to get the best possible deal for his side.
Moggi added on the Napoli chairman and his discussions with a Premier League suitor: “Sarri has not signed with Chelsea yet. You all know his release clause expired on the 31st of May and Napoli can ask for as much money as they want now.
“I have the feeling that we will see for the first time a swap deal between a player and a manager.
“De Laurentiis is very smart and he will try to make the most of this situation. I think he will ask Chelsea to sell one player in exchange for Sarri.”