Genoa president Enrico Preziosi has admitted they turned down the chance to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski three years ago.

Lewandowski actually visited Genoa, but the move collapsed and he signed for Lech Poznan.

"The Lewandowski operation was led by my son Fabrizio Preziosi, as he was the one who tracked the player and brought him to Genoa," explained the President on TMW.

"The transfer market is like that - some moves go through, others do not. We had Leo Messi in our grasp a few years ago, so we have more regrets over him than Lewandowski!

"At the time we knew this was a very strong centre-forward, although of course we didn't expect him to develop to this degree...

"We were one step away from completing the signing, but in the end it collapsed due to many reasons, among them his agent requesting a very high commission. Anyway, three years have passed and we don't think about this any more."