Newcastle United legend Tino Asprilla has made the incredible claim he had to convince a hitman not to kill Paraguay goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert.
The remarkable incident is said to have taken place following a World Cup qualification match in Paraguay's capital Asuncion in 1997, where the hosts defeated Colombia 2-1.
Asprilla and Chilavert were both sent off after clashing on the pitch, and the Colombian striker has revealed he received a phone call in his hotel room after the game from the potential hitman.
The gunman asked Asprilla - who signed for United during the 1996/97 season - for the green light to murder the Paraguayan goalkeeper.
In a documentary broadcast on Colombian television channel TelePacifico, the BBC reports Asprilla responded: “What? Are you crazy?”
“You’ll destroy Colombian football, you can’t do that!
“No, no, no, no. What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch."
The documentary was produced to celebrate Asprilla's 50th birthday, and the striker bagged 20 goals in 57 appearances for Colombia.
Colombian defender Andres Escobar was shot dead in 1994 outside a bar in Medelin in a shooting that was believed to be retribution for an own-goal he scored days earlier in the country's World Cup exit.
