The Serie A champions had promised to unveil the name of their new striker mid-evening on Friday and remained hopeful until the last minute that a deal for Tevez was possible.

"We were very close to an agreement with City," Galliani told Milan Channel.

"If at 18.30 someone asked me who would join, I would have said Tevez."

"In any case, our relations with City are good now and we have solved some misunderstandings."

"I did everything possible, I had my heart in my mouth today, I could not have done more. We had everything set for Tevez to come, but the situation changed.

"I would like to thank him for waiting until Friday evening, as promised. We will talk with City again in June."

Instead of Tevez, Milan signed Catania's Maxi Lopez, whose move had been in limbo for over a month as he waited for the San Siro outfit to make a decision.

"I had given my word to Catania and Maxi," Galliani said.

"He is a strong player and he is ready."