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Ahead of his debut against QPR this weekend, Manchester United’s new number 9 Radamel Falcao spoke in fluent cliché about his new team.
“I would like to be here and be part of the project,” said the Colombian. “I am very happy to be here. It’s a big challenge for me for my career. I always dreamed to be in a club like Manchester United.”
Some call it desperation, while others described it as Louis van Gaal’s statement of arrival, but one wonders what Falcao’s true motives in football really are.
Since his transfer, the Colombian often said he had no real intentions of moving to any other club. But just hours before his move to Old Trafford he tweeted his excitement of joining compatriot James Rodriguez at Real Madrid.
With super-agent Jorge Mendes pulling the strings in his ‘year-long loan deal’, Falcao finally landed at a ‘big’ club who would pay him similar wages to what he was on at Monaco.
Falcao’s hunger to make money has stood in his way to greatness in the past, and it looks as though it will here once again.
After enjoying an amazing five-year spell at Porto and Atletico Madrid, which saw him score 142 goals in 178 games, Falcao was the most dangerous striker in world football.
After being chased by Europe’s elite clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona, the striker instead opted for a move to Monaco. Monaco jersey in hand, wearing a bright pink suit, many in world football were shocked considering what he was destined for.
Falcao, who hasn’t played Champions League football since 2010, brushed another opportunity to do so to make a few extra thousand more a week instead. Falcao said it was the opportunity to follow his ‘idol’ Thierry Henry to Monaco that sealed the deal. Mentioning the former Arsenal striker, whose motives of winning trophies were never questioned, is almost an insult to anyone who followed his career. He would have gained more respect if he said he moved for the money.
Moreover, after ending Colombia’s World Cup qualifying campaign as leading goal scorer all was set for the South American’s assault for the title with ‘El Tigre’ as their headline act. Instead he suffered an ACL tear in January playing in a lowly French Cup match, sidelining him for the tournament.
In a game in which the elite clubs would have opted for their younger players to take the field, Monaco who were desperate for a trophy, chose to play 28-year-old, causing the disastrous injury.
If Falcao indeed made a move to a more established team and continued his progress, who knows where he might have ended up last season. There is no doubt he’s good enough to change the landscape of world football.
He may have been a Champions League winner at Madrid or the difference at Stamford Bridge on their quest to winning a Premier League title.
To add, Colombia were just two games away from the World Cup final – he could have been the difference, but instead he sat in the stands with his lonely millions.
As he stood in front of journalists at Old Trafford, Falcao expressed a desire to hang around a little longer this time.
“I hope to stay many years in Manchester United and make history at this club,” Falcao said. “When I was at Porto and Madrid I always wanted to improve and I dreamed about playing in a team like this.”
But don’t get too excited United fans – all it takes is a few extra pounds a week and he’s out the door again.
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