Udinese legend Antonio Di Natale reveals that Liverpool ‘was prepared to do anything’ to sign him, but he thought his true place was with Udine.
He also shared that his ideal strike partner would have been Cristiano Ronaldo. “Cristiano Ronaldo would’ve been an ideal teammate, because he is so quick with his legs and his mind,” Di Natale told Tuttosport. “I was a little bit like him back in the day, so it would’ve been fantastic for us to play together.”
The native Neapolitan scored 210 goals in 445 Series A games against Empoli and Udinese.
The 42-year-old has admitted a number of times that he declined to move to Juventus, but it seems they weren’t the only major club to come knocking:
“Liverpool wanted me at all costs too, they were prepared to do anything to get me to sign for them, but it would’ve made no sense for me to go to England when I’d already turned down Juve.”
He added, “I wanted to remain in Udine and had just signed a four-year contract, I’d won the Capocannoniere title, felt important here and simply didn’t want to change everything.”
The forward retired after 12 years in Friuli in 2016 and is now working as a youth team coach at Spezia.
Di Natale also comments on the current state of Series A, with Juventus one point ahead of Lazio in the standings:
“I think Lazio deserve the Scudetto, as they’ve shown they play better than anyone and have a great coach in Simone Inzaghi. Juventus are without doubt a very strong side, but I just like Lazio more.
“Inter can really challenge next season, as Antonio Conte is building a squad capable of winning.”
