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Ex-Paraguay Star Cabanas Agreed Man Utd Move Before Shooting. Former Paraguay and America striker Salvador Cabanas has revealed that he had agreed a move to Manchester United before the tragic shooting that all but ended his career at the top level. Cabanas was regarded as one of South America's finest goalscorers in his heyday, and was named the continent's Footballer of the Year in 2007 as well as finishing as the Copa Libertadores top scorer two years running. But in January 2010, shortly after leading Paraguay to a spot in the World Cup with six strikes in qualifying, Cabanas was shot in the head in a Mexican nightclub after an altercation with a known drug trafficker. Now working in Paraguayan capital Asuncion selling bread, Cabanas revealed that he was set to line up at Old Trafford before his life was turned upside down. "I had signed a pre-contract agreement for £1.3m for a transfer to Europe. They told me my destination would be Manchester United,&qu

Robnho on Why Madrid Forced Him to Join City Instead of Chelsea Robinho has revealed that he wanted to leave Real Madrid for Chelsea but that he was forced to go to Manchester City instead.The Brazilian explained how it was a bust-up between the Bernabeu club and the London side that led him to go to City. "I wanted to go to Chelsea, Scolari told me that I could make the difference for him in the team,"he said."However, Real Madrid ended up badly with them, they didn't like the way that Chelsea sold shirts with my name on them before the deal was done. "I am sure it was this that led to the negotiations to fail and it was a case of pride for Real Madrid. On top of this Chelsea were in the Champions league and City weren't."Robinho denied that he was sorry to leave Madrid. "I don't regret leaving Madrid but I am sorry that it ended badly when I went," he continued. "Madrid were the club that opened their doors and gave m

Balotelli Dropped from Italy Squad Mario Balotelli has been left out of Italy's 23-man squad to face Portugal following criticism of his performance in the Azzurri's 1-1 draw with Poland on Friday. Italy coach Roberto Mancini admitted the Nice striker did not play well against Poland and said "his fitness levels are an issue right now" before omitting Balotelli from his squad for Monday's match. F ormer Juventus and Roma player Zbigniew Boniek accused Balotelli of being "15 kilos overweight" after his performance against Poland, which ended when he was replaced by Andrea Belotti after 62 minutes at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. There is no place in Mancini's squad for Davide Zappacosta, Lorenzo Pellegrini or Cristiano Biraghi, all of whom started the game against Poland. Alessio Cragno, Daniele Rugani and Nicolo Zaniolo have also been left out of Italy's squad for the Nations League clash in Lisbon.

Alli Withdraws from England Squad Dele Alli has withdrawn from the England squad to face Switzerland due to a minor muscle strain. The Tottenham midfielder played 90 minutes as the Three Lions lost their opening UEFA Nations League game to Spain at Wembley on Saturday. However, a slight injury sustained during that game has now seen him pull out of the squad, and Gareth Southgate has opted against calling up a replacement for the friendly on Tuesday. Indeed, Southgate has already called up uncapped Leicester duo Demarai Gray and Ben Chilwell for the clash with Switzerland. Alli has played in all four of Spurs' games thus far this season, scoring in the opening day win over Newcastle United, and played a key role in the Three Lions' run to the World Cup semi-finals over the summer. Though he was rested against both Panama and Belgium in the group stages, Alli scored a key goal against Sweden in the quarter-finals.

Modric Deserved UEFA Award More Than CR7 - Ramos Sergio Ramos insists that Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric deserved to win the UEFA Player of the Year award ahead of those with "more marketing", such as Cristiano Ronaldo. Modric's win sparked controversy in Italy, with Ronaldo's representative, Jorge Mendes, blasting the snub as "ridiculous and shameful". However, Ramos believes that Modric, who played a key role in the club's Champions League victory, deserved the award over the Portuguese. "There are few players that I am as proud of having in my team as [Modric]," said Ramos, per the Daily Mail . "He is a great friend and a great player. He is one of the few players who [if he wins] would make me as happy as if they had given it to me." Ramos also appeared to take a dig at Ronaldo in claiming that Modric is more unassuming than the Juve striker, who has yet to score a goal in Serie A. "Maybe there are player

FIFPro World XI Nominees Revealed Gareth Bale and Mesut Ozil were absent as FIFPro revealed their list of nominees for this year's World XI. The team is voted for by over 25,000 professional footballers from 65 countries around the world, with the full side set to be revealed at FIFA's The Best Awards night on September 24, with the formation listed as 4-3-3. Full list: Goalkeepers : Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, PSG, Italy) Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea, Real Madrid, Belgium), David De Gea (Man Utd, Spain), Keylor Navas (Real Madrid, Costa Rica), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona, Germany). Defenders : Jordi Alba (Barcelona, Spain), Dani Alves (PSG, Brazil), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid, Spain), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus, Italy), Virgil van Dijk (Southampton, Liverpool, Netherlands), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid, Uruguay), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich, Germany), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich, Germany), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool, Croatia), Marcelo (Real Madrid, Braz