Paraguayan football star Roque Santa Cruz is set to join Blackburn from Manchester city. Santa Cruz has scored only four times since joining City in July 2009 and Hughes's year-long pursuit to bring him to Eastlands, for £17.5m, now looks to have been one of the more wasteful transfers of modern times.

In total, Santa Cruz started eight games, with another 16 substitute appearances. The Paraguay international has earned around £6m in wages and was so marginalised this season he did not even make Mancini's 25-man squad for the Europa League. Instead the striker would often be seen cycling into the club's practice ground to train on his own.

Paraguay next play Patrick Vieira and Victor Valdes's French team.