Several clubs, including Manchester United and Chelsea were reported to have been chasing Torino forward Andrea Belotti last summer.





The Italian 23-year-old, who scored 26 times in Serie A last season, was at the centre of much speculation, after several European giants made their interest towards him clear.





However, all attempts to sign the man nicknamed 'the Rooster' failed as Torino president Urbano Cairo chained his biggest asset down to the club by increasing his release clause to €100m.

However, while the sizeable clause was enough to put off most suitors, speaking at a convention on the future of Italian football in Milan, Cairo confessed that the enormous amount actually piqued the interest of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.





He said (via Gazzamercato): "I was once at dinner with Florentino Perez and he was talking about renewing his players' contracts by adding outstanding break clauses.





"I mentioned Belotti and my intention to introduce a €100m clause on his contract in order to keep him at Torino and he said that he didn't know him."

Torino president Cairo: "I was eating dinner with Florentino Perez, and we were talking about contracts of players with huge release clauses, and I mentioned Belotti. It pricked Florentino's ears. If the clause had only been €20m, he wouldn't have been interested." pic.twitter.com/zRzLTzCFJi — RMadrid Edition (@RMadridEdition) 15 November 2017

He concluded: "Once he found out about the clause, it pricked his ears. He would have never been interested in him had the clause only been worth €20m."





However, despite having such a large price tag on his head, Cairo claims Belotti has not changed for the worse.





Cairo said: "He remained humble despite this staggering amount of money. We need him to be calm, but we're confident: when he renewed his contract, he said that he wasn't even thinking about the break clause.

Which of these unlucky European nations will you miss the most at the World Cup next summer? Ireland Italy Netherlands Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

"With or without it, he showed amazing skills and scored 32 goals last season."