Former Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli has said that Juventus had the opportunity to sign Napoli's Slovakian star Marek Hamšík when he was at Brescia, but ultimately turned down the opportunity.

It has proved to be a costly affair for Juventus, as they have been struggling to replace the old guard. They have just returned to competing at the top of the Italian Serie A, but Cobolli Gigli reckons that Juventus could have won the title last season had they had a player like Marek Hamšík.

The Slovakian captain is recognised as one of the best players in Italy at the moment. He has been a huge part in helping Napoli qualify for the champions league last season, while they also did well in the actual competition as well.

Cobolli Gigli has revealed that Brescia offered Juventus the opportunity to sign Hamšík when he was an unknown property in world football. However, clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Barcelona have been trying to sign the player from Napoli. It is thought that the midfielder would command around £ 30 million in transfer value when clubs eventually come for him in the summer. Hamšík came extremely close to moving from Napoli in last summer, but ultimately decided to stay because of the champions league football on offer.

"We had dinner with Brescia president Gino Corioni after a league game. He informed me that they had a real jewel at their disposal in Hamsik, and added that he wanted him to play for us. However, fortunately for Napoli and their president Aurelio De Laurentiis, we waited too long," Cobolli Gigli said to Il Mattino. Slovakian star Hamšík has so far scored eight goals in just 22 appearances for Napoli this season, while he has also 5 assists to his name.