Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni has revealed how he came close to joining Inter Milan.

Toni said: "My first season with Fiorentina was incredible, absolutely my best, as I broke Gabriel Batistuta's record and became the first Italian to win the Golden Boot.

"Our Coach got us to play great football, we even qualified for the Champions League. Then Calciopoli damaged us.

"I made a mistake in making certain statements about wanting to join Inter, as I should've talked to the Della Valle family first," he concedes.

"It was a very important opportunity for me, the chance to play for a really big club and I was swept up by the enthusiasm of going to Inter.

"I did not understand that at that moment Fiorentina were docked 15 points and this was not a normal campaign. After a five-minute meeting with the Della Valle brothers I got the situation and the right decision was to remain and help Fiorentina emerge from that difficult time."

Toni agreed to stay with the Viola thanks to a pact that they would release him at the end of the season to any club he wished.

"Inter wanted me a great deal and if the President had allowed it, I would have gone in 2006," explained the striker. "There were other Italian sides who wanted me in 2007, and I was very close to Milan, but also Juve and Inter.

"I chose Bayern Munich because they wanted me at all costs. It also seemed a nice gesture to the Fiorentina fans not to play against them in Serie A."