Trezeguet made the admission during a court appearance on Thursday in the case of six men accused of match-fixing in Italian football.

Among the accused is Luciano Moggi, the former Juventus general manager who was banned from football for his part in the match-fixing scandal that saw Juventus stripped of two Serie A titles and relegated to Serie B in 2006.

Trezeguet stayed at the club despite the enforced relegation, but admitted if it had not been for former Juve coach Capello he would have left sooner to join Barcelona.

He said: "I had thought of leaving (Juve) at the end of 2004 for Barcelona but then Fabio Capello changed my mind and he told me on the telephone that he could resolve the issues between me and the club."

Over the coming weeks Capello is also expected to give evidence at the trial along with other personalities from Italian football, such as former Juventus defender and world player of the year Fabio Cannavaro.