Venice director Filippo Antonelli was interviewed a few days ago, saying that the club rejected Milan's offer to Cavilla in January.
Cavilla performed amazingly in Serie A last season, but Venice's relegation forced the club to let go of the midfielder and eventually he moved to Fiorentina.
Antonelli said: "We rejected Milan's offer to him in January. Fiorentina then stepped in and they were able to provide European qualifications, which was obviously not wise enough to force people to stay. I tried, but this decision could harm both the club and the players, so we finally accepted the offer that meets our conditions and we were still working to the best interests until the last moment."