Fiorentina have refuted suggestions that they made a swoop for Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Julio Cesar late in the summer transfer window.
The Brazilian number one has been seeking a move away from Loftus Road following the Hoops' relegation to the Championship, but neither Arsenal, Napoli nor Villarreal followed up their apparent interest by making a formal bid.
Reports claimed that Fiorentina were the closest to signing Cesar, but the former Inter Milan keeper turned down a return to Serie A despite wanting first-team football in a World Cup year.
However, Fiorentina's sporting director Daniele Prade has insisted that those rumours are untrue and that they did not make an offer for the 34-year-old, partially due to his wage demands.
"We were never rejected by Julio Cesar because we never contacted Julio Cesar," Prade told La Nazione.
"For two reasons - Julio Cesar has not played a real match since last April and then he has a very high salary, too high for us."
Cesar, who has been capped 75 times by his country, has been frozen out at QPR, with manager Harry Redknapp preferring to deploy Robert Green between the posts.
Joe Fish
