Martin Montoya has revealed how he came very close to joining Manchester United as a youth player when he was coming through the Barcelona system.

mundo deportivo cover quote Today we hear from the 34-year-old and how he followed almost the same path as Gerard Pique, who moved to Old Trafford, and Cesc Fabregas, who moved to Arsenal.

Barcelona’s youth were targeted

Martín Montoya was a product of Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy and made 67 appearances for the first team, as well as 75 appearances for the club’s B team.

Despite serving primarily as a backup to Dani Alves, he was also a major honor winner at the Camp Nou, with three La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey titles, a Champions League and a Supercopa de España.

However his career could have been very different. This is because Manchester United called him when he was young.

“I was very close to Manchester United,” he told journalist Rodrigo Rei.

“When I was young, I was close to playing for Manchester United. They came to offer me a contract, like they did with Cesc Fabregas and Pique.

“They offered you to spend four years in England, but at the time I didn’t want to do that. My dream was to play for Barcelona. For me, United is the biggest team in the Premier League.”

Interestingly, Montoya will play alongside both Pique and Fabregas for Barcelona. This, at least, justified the decision for all three.

brighton mantra

Montoya eventually reached England when he joined Brighton on a €7m deal in 2018. He spent two years with the Seagulls and made 56 appearances in total.

This saw him matched with Alexis McAllister. He is currently at Liverpool but reports in England have linked him with a potential shock move this summer. Montoya, for his part, is a fan.

“I spent six months with him; he came and then took a loan and went to Boca,” He said.

“Really a fantastic player, although at the time we didn’t think he would reach the level he is now. He was very young, barely spoke English, but as a person he is a star and as a footballer, he is performing brilliantly and has a huge future.”

🇩🇪 Exclusive: Castello Lukeba ‼️

➡️The formula confirms this @Kaus_Pandey17 There is interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United
➕ Defender tempted to move to Premier League
➡️ Summer decision will depend on the proposed projecthttps://t.co/2VZ2ljcDv7 #afc #lfc #afc

– Sports Witness (@Sport_Witness) 25 March 2026

The Detroit Pistons will be without star point guard Cade Cunningham for the remainder of Tuesday night’s contest against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena in Washington.

The former Oklahoma State Cowboys star played just five minutes in the first half of the Wizards game before leaving the locker room due to an apparent upper body issue.

“Pistons star Cade Cunningham is battling back spasms and will not return for tonight’s game against the Wizards,” ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel shared via a social media post on Twitter.

The 24-year-old Cunningham totaled six points while shooting 2-for-3 from the field with two rebounds and one steal and one turnover before exiting the game.

This story is being updated.

The Chicago Bulls were watching a throwback performance from Collin Sexton on Sunday night, but the celebration was cut short. During a high-stakes matchup against the Sacramento Kings, the dynamic guard was forced to exit early due to a lower left leg injury. The Bulls immediately announced that Sexton would not return for the remainder of the game, leaving a large void in their rotation as he was warming up.

The Bulls announced that Collin Sexton (left lower leg injury) is out for the remainder of tonight’s game against the Kings. pic.twitter.com/YBgP0nf7O5

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 9 March 2026

Before the injury, Sexton was arguably the best player on the field. Returning to a bench role with Josh Giddy in the lineup, Sexton provided an immediate spark that the Kings simply could not contain. He scored 28 points in just 22 minutes of action and shot an efficient 9 of 12 from the field, including seven triples. His ability to get to the rim and finish through contact has been the hallmark of his season, and he was on a career pace the night before the failure.

Times are especially tough for a Bulls team trying to find consistency in the final stages of the season. While Sacramento has struggled mightily this year, Chicago needed every score from Sexton to keep pace in a high-scoring affair. Without him, the offensive burden fell back on Giddy and Ayo Dosunmu, but the loss of Sexton’s distinctive north-south pace was evident in the second half.

For Chicago, the hope is that the fusion is relatively minor. Sexton has been one of the few bright spots for the franchise recently, averaging over 20 points per game in his last five contests. The medical staff will likely evaluate him further on Monday to determine if he will miss any additional time. Given his importance to the second unit, the Bulls will need his return as soon as possible to maintain their offensive identity.

Jamal Murray suffered a foot injury during Friday night’s clash between the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks.

Murray suffered the injury in the final minutes of the first half. He was on defense when he contested a shot from New York’s OG Anunoby. However, he injured his left leg as he needed assistance to get to the locker room. According to reporter Rachel Strand, Denver provided an update on whether Murray could return.

“A sight that will make you sick to your stomach. Jamal Murray needs help off the court with a foot injury. He’s heading to the locker room immediately. #MileHighBasketball,” Strand wrote.

“Jamal Murray is questionable to return with a left ankle sprain.”

A sight that will make you feel sick to your stomach. Jamal Murray needs help getting off the court with a foot injury. He is immediately heading to the locker room. #milehighbasketball pic.twitter.com/1Ge61r2ecu

– Rachel Strand (@MileHighRachel) 7 March 2026

How the Nuggets played against the Knicks amid Jamal Murray’s injury

The Nuggets collapsed without the services of Jamal Murray due to injury, and suffered a crushing 142–103 loss to the Knicks at home.

Things were close between the two teams as Denver led 29–27 after the first quarter. However, their defense suffered without Murray as they lost 115–74 over the final three periods of regulation.

Four players, including Murray, scored in double figures for Denver in the loss. Before the injury, he finished with 12 points and three assists on 5 of 10 shooting from the field. Nikola Jokic led the team with 38 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Darron Holmes II was next with 11 points while Cameron Johnson added 10 points and five assists.

Denver fell to a 39–25 record on the season and finished fifth in the Western Conference standings. They are above the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns while trailing the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Nuggets will look to bounce back in their next matchup while on the road. They will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder as tip-off takes place on March 9 at 7:30 PM ET.

The last thing the Los Angeles Lakers needed for Thursday night’s contest against the Denver Nuggets was for their thin frontcourt to become even weaker. But that’s exactly what happened, because according to Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime, Deandre Ayton was forced out of the game early with a knee injury and will not return to action.

It’s unclear exactly when Ayton suffered the injury, but at least the Lakers considered it serious enough to keep him from continuing with the injury that night. The true extent of the severity of Ayton’s injury should be revealed after the game when the Bahamian big man undergoes more testing.

Ayton played only four minutes before exiting; He recorded only two rebounds in that short amount of time he played against the Nuggets.

Without Ayton, the Lakers will have to rely even more on Jackson Hayes, and head coach JJ Redick may deploy a smaller unit to try to get Jokic on offense.

Of course, this also comes with its fair share of disadvantages; Jokic is the toughest cover in the association on the interior, and the Lakers will have to scramble to try to slow him down and send multiple defenders towards him – potentially opening up the floor for other Nuggets to do damage.

Lakers take small steps as Nuggets aim to stretch after DeAndre Ayton injury

No matter who covers him, Jokic is going to fill up the stat sheet. But the Lakers are at least getting him work on the defensive end. With Ayton out, Redick is really short, Marcus Smart is defending Jokic and trying to get in front of him in the post.

Smart, on the other hand, is getting a lot of open looks from beyond the arc. The Lakers are getting what they need on offense, and if that continues it’s up to them to shoot themselves to victory.