Juventus director Pavel Nedved admits he was in the middle of negotiations to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to Turin.
Juve signed Ronaldo last summer from Real Madrid for a club record fee.
Nedved said, "We are very happy to have welcomed a world class player like Cristiano Ronaldo into our team. Some thought it was crazy. We are in a situation where it is very difficult to buy players who are better than our 11.
"Our sports director told us that we could buy Ronaldo. We saw the clause had dropped to €100m, so it was more feasible. We had to go to the president who reviewed the transfer in all aspects and agreed.
"It was a lot easier because he wanted to join us. He wanted to change the environment and leave Madrid. He chose our club and it's an honour for us. When the idea was first suggested, we looked at each other.
"I told the President that this is the right decision, that our team would take a step forward."