Manchester United missed out on signing highly-rated South American star Salvador Cabanas, after he was shot in the head during a nightclub altercation.
Having signed a pre-contract agreement for a £1.3m move to Manchester United from Mexican side Club America in January 2010, Cabanas continued to play in Mexico as he prepared for the 2010 World Cup with Paraguay. The 2007 South American Player of the Year had finished as the nation's top scorer during qualifying for the tournament, impressing Sir Alex Ferguson in the process.
But Cabanas' move to Manchester United never materialised, nor did an appearance at the World Cup. On January 25, 2010, while inside the toilets of the Bar Bar nightclub in Mexico City, Cabanas was shot in the head by a member of the Beltran-Leyva Drug-Cartel called Jose Balderas Garza. Fortunately, the Paraguayan footballer somehow survived the attack.
Manchester United had agreed a deal with Cabanas before he was shot in the head
“I remember everything,” Cabanas told FIFA TV. "He started to insult me and suddenly took out a gun. He pointed it at me and told me 'I am JJ, the most wanted drug dealer. And today is your last day because you're going to die. You're stealing from us, the Mexicans, and today is your last day'.
"I said, 'Why? I came here to work because I need the money'. He said, 'No, you're making too much money and you're taking it to Paraguay. We are in need and working for you'. After that, he shot me."
After spending just a month in intensive care, Cabanas left hospital hoping to make a full return before the World Cup. He suffered from short-term memory loss, had a weakened left side of the body and struggled with his eye-sight following the attack, however, meaning he failed to make the squad.
His Manchester United move also fell through as a result of the attack. Cabanas, though, looks on the more positive side of things, while revealing another shocking aspect of what happened.
"The most important thing is that I recovered fully," he said. "But the bullet is still inside my head - it can't be taken out, because it's too dangerous."
Cabanas did manage to return to professional football, with third-tier Paraguayan side club 12 de Octubre, in 2012, two years after the attack. He retired initially in January 2014, but made another return to football just a couple of months later when signing for Sao Paulo-based side Tanabi.
"It is sad," Cabanas told Telefuturo in 2019. "I was an idol in Paraguay. Nobody from the Paraguay FA or my team came forward to help. The regular people do remember me, I respect them a lot and that is what keeps you going.
"That is life, part of being a footballer."
