Former Juventus coach Gigi Maifredi has sensationally claimed that Luciano Moggi was close to signing Steven Gerrard and Cristiano Ronaldo while he was director at the Stadio Delle Alpi.

The 62-year-old, who managed Juve in the early 90's, claims that Moggi had lined up the star duo and even went as far as saying they had signed for the club, before the 'Calciopoli scandal' in 2006 which rocked Italian football and saw the Bianconeri relegated to Serie B.

Maifredi, who also had spells as boss at Bologna (twice), Genoa and Reggiana, has stated his belief that the whole scandal was simply 'invented' in order to stop Juventus from becoming a dominant force in Italian football.

"Calciopoli? It's best to put a veil over this. But let me tell you this, Moggi and [Antonio] Giraudo had already bought Gerrard and Cristiano Ronaldo," he told Italian radio show Tutti Pazzi Per La Juve.

"The foundations for a Bianconeri dominion had been laid down and it would have lasted for at least 20 years. Instead certain people invented a scandal in order to kill such a strong team."

Maifredi also criticised the appointment of current manager Ciro Ferrara, who as ExtraFootie reported earlier is under pressure following Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Cagliari, before modestly adding that if he were back in charge of the side, they would be top of Serie A.

"Ferrara was a great player, but I don't think he was ready for the Juventus job. I think it was wrong to bring him in for the future as Juventus play to win instantly. You cannot wait around for success here," he added.

"Comparing this to my old Juve I can see that they are missing a coach who is right for such a competent and succesful club.

"If I was in Ferrara's place we would be ahead of Inter with such a great squad."