Players Who Turned Down Big Money Moves XI _ Totti, Ronaldinho & Buffon!.

Welcome to Football Daily, where today we've made a team of players who turned down crazy transfers. Goalkeeper, Jean-Luigi Buffon After 15 years at Juventus, it's hard to imagine Gigi Buffon anywhere else. But the Italian almost never joined the Bianconeri. A breakout star with Parma, the 6ft3 stopper was courted by Barcelona, with the Catalans making a lucrative offer to try and solve their goalkeeping issues. At the time, Buffon felt Juventus was the bigger club. Barca hadn't reached the Champions League final in 7 years, whilst the old lady had appeared in 3 of the previous 6. But the deciding factor was Buffon's father, who convinced his son to stay in his homeland. Buffon has won 7 titles since, as well as the World Cup, but that European trophy continues to elude him. We doubt the big man has any regrets though, as he turned down an unnamed Russian club in 2013 to prove his loyalty once again. Right back, Dani Alves Buffon's Juve team-mate Dani Alves left Barcelona after 8 years with the club in 2016, but he might have taken a longer flight out of Catalonia. An unnamed Chinese side reportedly went in hard for the Brazilian, offering him around €30m over 3 years, around the same wages as Karim Benzema. The move would have made Alves one of football's best paid players, joining countrymen Alex Teixeira, Hulk and Ramirez in the cash-rich Chinese Super League. And it would have been understandable too, after 6 titles and 3 Champions Leagues, if Alves had taken the money and put his feet up, nobody would have been surprised. Instead, he switched to Italy, and has even scored twice in his first 6 games in the black and white shirt. And with Juve ripping up Serie A yet again, Alves looks set to add to his impressive trophy cabinet. Centre-back Diego Godin Uruguayan centre-half Godin cost Atletico Madrid just £6.6m from Villarreal back in 2010, and the player was 27 before he started to be recognised as one of the world's best defenders. Powerful and quick, with great anticipation, Godin had helped the yellow submarine to their best ever finish in 2008, finishing second above Barcelona. And Godin's dominance in Atleti's 2014 title win attracted major interest from Manchester City, who were seeing injuries chip away at Vincent Kompany. Manuel Pellegrini met Godin's €40m buyout clause, but the centre-back couldn't walk away from Simeone or the enormous wage hike Atleti offered him. He has since gone on to take Atleti back to a Champions League final, and at 30 years old, may well see out his career with Los Rojiblancos. Centre-back Philipp Lahm He's not a centre-back okay, but Philipp Lahm is good enough to play anywhere in defence or in midfield. In fact, the German is one of the most versatile players in the modern game, and started out on the left for Bayern Munich competing with Vicente Lizarazu and Marcel Janssen. Man United and Barcelona both took an interest in the Magic Dwarf, but Lahm turned them down, keen to stay in his hometown and confident Bayern could win the Champions League. He was proved right in 2013, when the Bavarians picked up a Pokal, League and Champions League treble. He has now won an incredible 22 trophies at the Allianz Arena, and the little matter of a World Cup as captain of Germany. Left-back Ashley Cole Ashley Cole is not exactly known for turning down money, after the English left-back ditched Arsenal for Chelsea in a shocking betrayal back in 2006. But the defender did reject a major payday back in 2015, when Newcastle United made a cheeky deadline day bid for him. Cole, recently named by Cristiano Ronaldo as his toughest ever opponent, was stuck at Roma, with seemingly no hope of getting on the field. The Italian giants hadn't included him in their Champions League squad, or even assigned the veteran a number. But the Magpies failed to entice Cole to Tyneside, and instead he joined Los Angeles Galaxy in 2016. Lucky for him, as Newcastle were relegated to the Championship the following season. Centre mid Xavi The hub of Pep Guardiola's Barca side, which won three league titles and two Champions Leagues, Xavi is one of the world's greatest ever midfielders. His intelligence enabled him to overcome his small stature and lack of speed, contributing to 85 goals in 767 games for the Blaugrana. But back in 2014, after Barcelona had endured a season without silverware, Pep came looking for his former charge, offering to double Xavi's wages to take him to Germany. But Xavi was unwilling to join a European rival, instead seeing out one more campaign at Barca and winning the treble for a second time. Xavi also turned down moves to the MLS, as well as Michael Laudrup's Lechia, before the money eventually got the best of him and he switched to Qatari side Al Saad in 2015. Centre mid Steven Gerrard He may be a legend in Liverpool now, but Steven Gerrard almost ditched the Reds more than once. In 2004, Jose Mourinho tried to take the Scouser to Chelsea, and Gerrard was convinced, reportedly texting the Portuguese coach to let him know that he would join the Blues. However, Gerrard's dad gave his son the mother of all bollockings, telling him he could stay at Anfield and become a legend. A year later, Stevie G was holding the Champions League trophy aloft, but Mourinho wasn't finished. During his reign at Real Madrid, the manager once again tried to recruit Gerrard, but this time he got nowhere. They wanted me to kick up a fuss to get out to Liverpool for a certain amount of money, which I just wasn't prepared to do, said Gerrard. And in 2015, he left Europe altogether, this time for LA, having never played a minute for another European club. Right wing Ronaldinho Sorry United fans, but the Red Devils are on here again, and this one might sting. In 2003, Ronaldinho had outgrown Paris Saint-Germain, where he played alongside Mauricio Pochettino and looked certain to be on his way to Old Trafford. Ronaldinho said the deal was a couple of details away from complete, while United officials claimed that the Brazilian was 48 hours from pulling on the shirt. But at the last minute, Ronaldinho's friend, Sandro Rossell, called the player to say he was about to be elected as Barcelona president, and that he wanted the gaucho at the Camp Nou. The paperwork was rushed through, and Ronaldinho became a Barca man, picking up two domestic titles and a Champions League medal, and winning the Ballon d'Or in 2005. Left wing Franck Ribéry It might be rare for a world-class player, but Franck Ribéry has never played in Spain or England, but clubs from both countries made efforts for the Frenchman back in 2008. Bayern had picked him up from Marseille a year earlier, and Ribéry had been named the Footballer of the Year in his first season. But Real Madrid and Chelsea smashed their piggy banks and tried to pry the winger out of Bavaria, with the Blues tabling an offer which Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge called utter madness. In the end, the money didn't matter, with Bayern laying on the charm and persuading Ribéry that he would be the centrepiece of the side. More than 300 games and 18 trophies later, we'd say it worked out for the best. Attacking midfield, Francesco Totti Unbelievably, Francesco Totti has been in the Roma team since 1993, and has stuck with the side through highs and lows. The Italian was one of the most gifted forwards of his generation, capable of playing up front and as a number 10, and taking Roma to the title in 2001, their first Serie A win in 18 years. Barcelona and Real Madrid both wanted the gladiator, but Totti outside Roma was simply unimaginable. However, in 2016, he did admit that he wished he could have played for Real Madrid, if it hadn't meant leaving his beloved Gialarossi. Still going strong at 40 years old, Totti is the ultimate story of loyalty, and if he doesn't get a statue at the Stadio Olimpico, football's gone mad. Striker, Jamie Vardy A whippet of a forward, Jamie Vardy exploded in 2015 at the age of 28, scoring 24 league goals for Leicester City as they romped to a surprise title win. The Englishman, who was signed for just £1m from non-league Fleetwood Town, caught the attention of the division's giants, as did his £20m buyout clause. Arsenal triggered that clause, looking for an alternative to the slightly more ponderous Olivier Giroud, but Vardy departed for Euro 2016 without making a decision on whether he would leave the champions. However, Leicester City made a huge contract offer to re-sign their staff, and the Gunners were left empty handed. Vardy started 2016-17 without the red-hot form of the campaign before, but the Foxes fans will never forget his faithfulness to the club where he made his name.