‘My son turned down Arsenal and Liverpool for Man Utd – they’re the biggest’ | Football | Sport
Ander Herrera of Manchester United celebrates scoring their first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on May 17, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images) (Image: Getty Images)
Radamel Falcao turned down Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City to join Manchester United, his father has said. The striker became a marquee signing for the Red Devils in 2014, sealing the deal on deadline day. According to the Colombian’s father, Falcao viewed United as England’s most prestigious club and was willing to reject approaches from their fiercest competitors to make Old Trafford his home.
The forward first made his mark globally at Porto before establishing himself as one of Europe’s deadliest strikers during his stint with Atletico Madrid. His impressive tally of 70 goals in 91 appearances in Spain helped propel Diego Simeone’s team to consecutive Europa League triumphs in 2011 and 2012. Following a 34-goal haul in his second and final campaign in Madrid, he moved to Monaco for a reported £50million but endured a serious knee injury just six months into his time in the principality.
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After recovering from injury the subsequent summer, a loan switch to United was arranged, giving the Red Devils the option to secure a permanent deal for a reported £43.5m. United, under Louis van Gaal’s stewardship at the time, were understood to have outmanoeuvred several domestic competitors for Falcao’s services.
Radamel Garcia, Falcao’s father and a former footballer who represented Colombia at the 1980 Summer Olympics, revealed the clubs his son turned down to sign for United. “Manchester United is the most important team in England and one of the most powerful financially,” he told Colombian radio.
“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.”
Just days before Falcao completed his move to Old Trafford, he fuelled speculation about a potential switch to Real Madrid after posting on social media: “Hala Madrid.”
Radamel Falcao failed to find his footing with Manchester United (Image: PA)
However, the seemingly imminent transfer to the Bernabeu collapsed, with his father shedding light on what went wrong.
He said: “Things did not happen with Real Madrid because if you have money and you go to the shops to buy a shirt or trousers, you have to decide if you buy it or not. So Real Madrid opted not to do it, and you can’t do anything about that. Apart from that, I don’t know, I have a feeling they wanted the player to offer himself as a gift with a number of conditions and things like that.
“It didn’t happen because, as I said, they decided to buy the trousers and the shirt they wanted, and they considered what was better for them, and you have to accept that because they are the ones who pay the money. Thank God, everything happened with Manchester United.”
Despite the stellar reputation he forged in Spain and France, ‘El Tigre’ never truly found his rhythm in England. During his solitary campaign at Old Trafford, he netted merely four goals across 29 appearances in all competitions.
Following his return to parent club Monaco, he was once again loaned out to the Premier League the nexr season, this time joining Chelsea. Yet Falcao’s luck in England’s top division remained unchanged, managing only one goal in 12 outings before a severe thigh injury cut his season short.
A permanent move to Galatasaray was secured for Falcao in 2019, where he spent two seasons in Turkey before heading back to Spain with Rayo Vallecano. Following three years back in La Liga, Falcao returned to Colombia to join Millonarios and remains with the club to this day.
