Manchester United had agreed to sign Paraguay international Salvador Cabanas before he was shot in the head, the striker has claimed.
Cabanas claims to have signed a pre-contract agreement with United prior to the shooting.
He was shot inside the Bar Bar nightclub in Mexico City in 2010 after an altercation in the bathroom.
The then Club America star spent a month in intensive care. His injuries and subsequent recovery period put paid to his planned move to Old Trafford, where he would have rivalled Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov for a place in Sir Alex Ferguson’s attack.
Cabanas told Telefuturo: “I had signed a pre-contract agreement for £1.3m for a transfer to Europe.
“They told me my destination would be Manchester United.
“Club America doubled my salary and gave me one apartment in Acapulco and another in Cancun to try and keep me at the club.”
Instead he returned to football in January 2012 with Paraguayan third division side 12 de Octubre. He also had a short stint in Brazil with Tanabi Esporte Clube and a brief spell with Independiente de Pedro Juan Caballero, but retired in 2014.
The 38-year-old now sells bread for a living in his hometown of Asuncion.
The 2007 South American Footballer of the Year scored 10 goals in 44 caps for Paraguay.
