Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 7y

Juventus' Miralem Pjanic: I came close to moving to Paris Saint-Germain

Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic has revealed he was close to joining Paris Saint-Germain while playing for Roma.

Pjanic, 26, played for Metz and Lyon in France before moving to Roma and ultimately Italian champions Juve in the summer.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international says that while back in France there was "concrete contact" with PSG when he was a Roma player in January of 2014.

"It was really close [a PSG transfer] in the winter [of January 2014]," Pjanic told France Football. "However, we were fighting for the title with Roma.

"The contacts were concrete. I got a final call from Walter Sabatini [Roma's former director of football], though, and he said to me, 'Mire, even for €50 million, you are going nowhere!'"

After failing to sign Pjanic, PSG moved for Yohan Cabaye instead and bought the France international from Newcastle United for an initial €20 million with €3m in performance-related bonuses.

Cabaye's stay at the Parc des Princes was short-lived, though, and he left Paris in the summer of 2015 for Crystal Palace, while Pjanic remained with Roma until his €32m move to Juve this summer.

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