Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis had intentions to sign Paulo Dybala but later opted not to pursue the striker due to "strange" circumstances.
Dybala was purchased by Palermo in 2012 from Argentine outfit Instituto, before sealing a €32million switch to Juventus last year.
The 22-year-old is Juve's top-scorer in Serie A this season with 12 goals and has contributed eight assists - also a club high.
Juventus trail Napoli in the table by two points, while Dybala is nine goals behind his compatriot, Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain, in the scoring charts.
"[Higuain and Dybala] are two different players," he told Sky Sport Italia. "But I'll hang onto [Higuain].
"I tried to buy Dybala, but I saw that there were several strange situations, particularly abroad, so I left the deal alone.
"[If Dybala signed for Napoli] then I would have had to sell someone."
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