Juventus veteran Andrea Pirlo has revealed how close he came to signing for Real Madrid.

Real and Juve meet in the first-leg of the Champions League semifinal tonight.

Asked if he'd come close to joining Real, Pirlo replied: "Yes. In 2006. Capello called me. Milan had problems with the Calciopoli scandal. The deal was nearly done. Then everything was sorted out and my contract was renewed.

"Regret no. That year, in fact, we won the Champions League."