Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov's cancer was caused by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster more than 25 years ago, according to his national team's doctor.
At the time Stiliyan Petrov was growing up in Montana, Bulgaria, 650 miles away from Chernobyl.
But the cloud of contaminated matter is believed to have passed over the city in the weeks following the disaster.
Dr. Iliev told The Sun 'It was in the late spring, the population was eating fresh radioactive vegetables and other foods. Many people who were kids back then suffered cancer because of this.
Greenpeace estimates 200,000 people will eventually contract cancer as a result of Chernobyl.