Legendary former Inter goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca has revealed that a number of Premier League clubs wanted him during his time with the Nerazzurri.

Pagliuca, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, joined Inter in 1994 from fellow Serie A side Sampdoria and spent five years with the club but there were opportunities for him to leave before then.

“In 1997, Manchester United asked about me. It was not me that said no but it was Massimo Moratti, who said I was not moving. In 1999 Aston Villa came in for me as did Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna who then won La Liga.

“I have no regrets about not leaving because top players came to Inter, such as Ronaldo,” he explained in an interview with Milan based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, which appeared in today’s print edition.

He was then asked about who he thinks is better between his former teammate Ronaldo and current Juventus and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Cristiano is a machine but Ronaldo had more quality and vision, and he was an absolute phenomenon who was undermined by injury.”

Pagliuca made a total of 234 appearances across all competitions during his half decade on the Nerazzurri club’s books in which he kept a total of 82 clean sheets.

Pagliuca left Inter in 1999 for Bologna where he spent seven years before he joined Ascoli, where he played for a single season before retiring.