Legendary former Italy, Inter, Juventus, and Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro came close to joining the Nerazzurri’s city rivals AC Milan in 2002.
Speaking to Italian news outlet Pianeta Milan, Cannavaro explained that he nearly made the switch to the Rossoneri from Parma before in the end moving to Inter instead,
Cannavaro was widely acknowledged as one of the best Italian defenders of his generation, captaining Italy to the World Cup title in 2006, and he played for a number of top clubs during his career.
The former defender spent two seasons with the Nerazzurri between 2002 and 2004 before making the switch to Juventus.
However, as he explained, a move to the other side of the city of Milan was not far away for Cannavaro when the defender was at the peak of his powers, and he had something of a sliding doors moment to arrive at Inter instead.
“I was close joining to Milan before going to Inter in 2002,” he said. “At the beginning I had to go to Milan and then Sacchi told me that Parma would sell me to Inter instead.”
“It’s still Milan today, but in those years it was perhaps the point of reference for all teams and players in the world,” he said of the Milan clubs.
