Manchester United fans could hardly believe their luck when it was announced that Radamel Falcao had joined their club on a season long loan from Monaco.
The striker had been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, with Manchester City and Arsenal also keen, but out of nowhere, it was confirmed he was joining United.
Three days earlier, Falcao took to Twitter to express his delight at signing for the Spanish giants though, ‘dream come true’ he said, with the hashtag ‘hala Madrid’.
Jorge Mendes, his agent, had reportedly been working on a deal to take him to Spain all summer but the club apparently weren’t as keen.
A week in to his time at United, Falcao insisted that United had always been his first choice though in an interview with FourFourTwo.
‘Manchester United had been pursuing me for the past few months,’ he said. ‘Yes, other clubs like Real Madrid were interested, but I wanted to go to Manchester.
‘It is a great club, with a great history and one that fills me with a lot of hope that I can succeed there.
‘There were moments where I didn’t think the transfer would occur in time – something that was stressful to me – but in the end it worked out.’
Falcao’s claims contradict Florentino Perez’s though, with the Real Madrid president insisting that they pulled put of the deal because the striker was too expensive.
‘We considered signing Falcao,’ Perez said. ‘But in this club we follow a sporting-economic equation which (former club president Santiago) Bernabeu taught us, and we decided not to do so. The coach’s opinion was also important in us turning it down.’
Falcao’s own father, Radamel Garcia, supported Perez’s version of events too, claiming his son wanted to go to Madrid but the club weren’t interested. However, he was relieved that a deal had been done with United.
‘Thank God, everything happened with Manchester United,’ he said. ‘Manchester United is the most important team in England and one of the most powerful financially. Juventus, Manchester City, Liverpool also approached him and Arsenal at the last minute. Fortunately, he ended up at Manchester United, a great team that he has to lead forward.’
Falcao’s agent, Mendes, has strong ties to both United and Real Madrid. At the end of the season, Falcao has insisted that he wants to sign for United on a permanent basis, but if the Spanish side realise the error of their ways, would he still be pledging his future to United?
After scoring an important equaliser against Aston Villa on Saturday, Falcao ran to the away fans and celebrated with them, before walking away grabbing the United badge on his shirt. He certainly appears to be happy at the club and once he starts playing more regularly and, by default you would imagine, scoring more regularly, he will only become more settled.
But if Falcao is able to prove his fitness, it’s hard to imagine Real Madrid being as reluctant to deal with him next summer, which will put his long-term future at United in doubt.
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