So, could this actually happen?
With Radamel Falcao wasting away on the bench of another Premier League giant -- last season Manchester United, this season Chelsea -- on loan, the Colombian striker has had a frustrating few years.
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Still contracted to AS Monaco, who can’t afford his astronomical wages of $210,000 per week due to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, Falcao suffered a serious knee injury in January 2014 and many believe he has never fully recovered.
With minutes hard to come by and niggling injuries cropping up constantly over the past two years he has only scored seven times in 49 appearances for club and country in that period and this season he has one goal for Chelsea and has only played 214 minutes, making just one start in the Premier League.
According to MundoDeportivo, Falcao could be handed an escape route in Major League Soccer.
The reports claims that Columbus Crew have begun preliminary negotiations and the 2015 MLS Cup runners-up are certainly no stranger to taking a punt on a forward from South America entering the twilight of his career (see: Barros Schelotto, Guillermo and Higuain, Federico). Plus, he looks legit wearing yellow in the picture above, right?
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Of course, Falcao’s contract demands would see him up there among the best paid players in MLS but with his powers wavering in the PL and Columbus emerging as one of the best run clubs in MLS, plus boasting a strong band of supporters with South American heritage, perhaps “El Tigre” arriving in Ohio isn’t quite as audacious as it seems...
Don’t get me wrong, this would be a huge shock if it happened but given Didier Drogba arriving in Montreal and excelling and Sebastian Giovinco taking a chance in Toronto in 2015 which went extremely well, maybe this is exactly what Falcao needs at this point in his career?
Falcao has been injured often this season and is currently recovering from another knock as we enter the January transfer window. He is due to remain at Chelsea for the rest of the 2015-16 season, but if a deal can be done between Chelsea, his parent club Monaco and Columbus, then it would surely go down as one of the most exciting and intriguing deals for a big-name Designated Player in MLS history. Don’t forget, the former FC Porto and Atletico Madrid forward moved to Monaco for $65 million in 2013 and before his knee injury was believed to be one of the most clinical finishers on the planet.
Let’s see how this storyline develops in the coming days and weeks.
