Former Chelsea and Arsenal striker Nicolas Anelka has become the latest player to join the Indian Super League as he has signed a short-term deal with Mumbai City FC.
The 35-year-old striker had been a free agent after being sacked by West Bromwich Albion for "gross misconduct" following the controversial "quenelle gesture" incident in March.
There were rumours of the French striker joining Fiorentina, but Anelka's agent Alexander Garini revealed that the Serie A side never made contact and his client has signed for Mumbai City till 25 December.
"Fiorentina never made contact with Anelka," Garini told Violanews.com. "Anelka signed a deal with Mumbai FC and so there is no chance of a U-turn."
"The contract will expire on December 25th, I have it, so there are no problems. We have never had contacts with Viola, so the news that said this is false."
Garini added that his client's demand of €1.5 million in wages proved to be a stumbling block for his move to Italy.
"Anelka asked for 1.5 million euros each season -- a salary that is out of reach in Italy. We had contacts with Palermo, but we didn't go forward for this."
The Frenchman will prove to be another marquee addition to the Indian Super League as he has played for some big clubs in the past including Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Meanwhile, nine players who will feature in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League have been called up for the India U-23 team which will take part in the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea, scheduled to start on 14 September.
The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs confirmed that both the men's U-23 team as well as the women's senior football team will be participating in the Asian Games.
India, who will be coached by Wim Koevermans, will face a lot of competition in the group stages itself as they have been drawn alongside United Arab Emirates and Jordan in Group G.
The Indian football team managed to secure the gold medal in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games in New Delhi and Jakarta respectively, while they picked up the bronze medal in 1970 in Bangkok.
Here are the nine ISL players who have been called up for the U-23 team.
Defenders: Pritam Kotal (FC Pune City), Sandesh Jhingan (Kerala Blasters FC) and Narayan Das (FC Goa)
Midfielders: Pronay Halder (FC Goa), Lalrindika Ralte (Mumbai City FC) andMilan Singh (NorthEast United FC)
Forwards: Seiminlen Doungel (NorthEast United FC), Mandar Rao Desai (FC Goa) and Francis Fernandes (Delhi Dynamos FC)
