Parma president Tommaso Ghirardi admits Juventus rejected the chance to sign Giuseppe Rossi for a knockdown €5 million.

Juve are chasing the Italian international this summer and are reportedly close to agreeing a €27m deal with Villarreal.

"I offered [Manchester United] €8m for him, but Villarreal got him for €10m-€11m," said Ghirardi.

"I was right four years ago when I wanted to sign him, but the problem was that his asking price was too high.

"I knocked on all of the doors at the big Italian clubs, offering a co-ownership deal, but the only interested side were Roma who then had to decline.

"I went to Turin. I was warmly welcomed by [former director general Jean-Claude] Blanc, but he and his collaborators didn't think investing in Rossi was right.

"I couldn't pay what United wanted for Rossi, but we and another Italian club could have signed him for €5m each."