Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi started playing football at a very early age in his hometown's Newell's Old Boys. From the age of 11, he suffered from a hormone deficiency and as Lionel's parents were unable to pay for the treatment in Argentina, they decided to move to Barcelona, Spain.

Cesc Fabregas

Unlike the aforementioned Messi, Fabregas left hometown club Barcelona at the age of just 16 when joining Arsenal in 2003 and it was a gamble that quickly paid off. After the club had gone unbeaten in 2003-04, Wenger could ignore the talent of Fabregas no longer and his stunning emergence the following season even convinced his manager to sell captain Patrick Vieira, such was his faith in the Spaniard who took the famous number four shirt.

Fernando Torres

Appropriately for a player nicknamed El Nino ('The Kid'), Torres has set tongues wagging from a very early age. After coming through the ranks at Atletico Madrid he became the club's youngest ever player in May 2001 and was later installed as their youngest ever captain at the age of 19. However, despite his admirable loyalty over a period of six years, Torres was finally lured to Anfield in the summer of 2007 for a fee of around £21.5 million, just weeks after 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was seen inscribed on his captain's armband at Atleti.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The year 2006 to 2008 proved to be a rather controversial year for the star. In the 2006 World Cup, Cristiano faced accusations regarding his sportsmanship. In a quarter-final match against England, he was heavily criticized for sending of his club team mate, Wayne Rooney who was playing for the England team.

Carlos Vela

A succession of superb performances at the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2005 convinced Arsenal to pay £125,000 for the Mexican forward, and although he has shown flashes of genius, the onus is very much on Vela to demonstrate he is a valuable first-team member after inheriting Robin van Persie's No. 11 shirt at Emirates Stadium ahead of the 2010-11 season.

Didier Drogba

Undoubtedly one of the best centre forwards in the world, Drogba still manages to polarise opinion with his theatrical and temperamental style of play taking the shine off the powerful striker's incredible talent. Drogba moved from his native Ivory Coast to France in 1988, living with his uncle in order to pursue a career in football

Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez is a history maker in South America having been named that continent’s player of the season for three years in succession. He arrived garlanded with medals having won the Copa Scudamerocana, the Intercontinental Cup, the Primera Division and the Copa Libertadores with Boca Juniors and Serie A in Brazil with Corinthians before moving to England, where he won two Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Carling Cup.

Blues linked with Mata bid

8:37 PM Admin

Chelsea are reported to have made a bid in the region of £27 million for Valencia midfielder Juan Mata.

Andre Villas-Boas is known to be keen to add to his midfield, both to increase numbers and to inject creativity after the team struggled to provide record signing Fernando Torres with sufficient service after his move from Liverpool in January.

Luka Modric is still said to be on the club's radar - though Villas-Boas told a press conference on Thursday that the continuation of the pursuit will be the "club's decision" - but widespread reports in England and Spain suggest that, for now, attention has turned to 23-year-old Mata.

Marca reported the news of Chelsea's interest earlier this week, and Valencia-based SuperDeporte claims "talks between the directors at the London club and Valencia have intensified". The Las Provincias newspaper says Chelsea are ready to pay between €25 million and €30 million, and that Valencia would accept, with Sergio Canales' arrival from Real Madrid offering adequate cover.

The Daily Telegraph, more specifically, claims Chelsea have bid £27 million and adds: "The offer is expected to secure the 23 year-old from Valencia, who are likely to accept the bid ahead of interest from Tottenham Hotspur." The Daily Mail, which reported that Chelsea had seen a £22 million bid for Mata rejected earlier this week, also puts the value of the bid at £27 million but claims the offer includes a further £2 million in top-up payments.

Asked to comment on links with Mata, Raul Meireles and Porto duo Joao Moutinho and Alvaro Pereira, Villas-Boas would only say: "We have been studying all kinds of options."

With their young manager at the helm, Chelsea have been eager to inject youth into the playing staff, and on Thursday completed the signing of 18-year-old Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku. Villas-Boas has tipped the youngster for great success at Stamford Bridge.

"He is tremendously powerful, very strong in the challenges," he said. "Despite his size, he has an explosiveness and an ability to react quickly which looks pretty amazing. He just has to break through this competitive level and, for sure, he will get opportunities this year."

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Nasri to leave with 'bitterness and anger

9:03 AM Admin

Arsenal's battle to keep hold of wantaway midfielder Samir Nasri appears destined to reach a messy conclusion, with the Frenchman saying he will "certainly leave very soon" with "bitterness and anger in my heart".

Nasri has been pursued by Manchester City throughout the current transfer window, and with contract extension talks at Arsenal long since stalling, the 24-year-old appears set to leave the Emirates on less than amicable terms.

Arsene Wenger had hoped the club could hold on to Nasri, but recently admitted the Gunners were not in a strong position to retain his services.

Nasri, posting on what the club understands to be his personal Facebook page, responded to what he saw as "disrespectful" chants aimed at him by fans during their Premier League opener against Newcastle - despite the France international not appearing on the pitch.

"I was very disappointed by the supporters last weekend," Nasri wrote. "I am still an Arsenal player but I will certainly leave very soon.

"It's nearly done. But I will leave with bitterness and anger in my heart."

The imminent transfer of Nasri will follow the sale of former skipper Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona after protracted negotiations over the Spain midfielder were resolved earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are awaiting the fate of Wenger who allegedly gave instructions to club officials during their Champions League qualifier against Udinese, despite serving a touchline ban. UEFA reportedly instructed Wenger to cease the communications at half-time, but assistant coach Pat Rice was believed to have received further messages during the second stanza.

Kieran Gibbs and Johan Djourou picked up hamstring injuries during the game leaving them in serious doubt for this weekend's clash with Liverpool.

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