In light of Radamel Falcao’s $9 million loan move to Manchester United on Monday, the player’s father has stepped forward to shed some light on what clubs were fighting for his son on deadline day.
As it turns out Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Juventus all had interest in signing Falcao while Real Madrid - the club most pundits believed the Colombian striker was headed - apparently removed themselves from contention due to financial reasons.
“The clubs that showed an interest in him were Juventus, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal at the last minute,” Radamel Garcia told the Colombian radio station LA FM. “Fortunately, he has arrived to Manchester United, a great club. Thank God everything came through with United.”
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In the eyes of Garcia, Manchester United is the most important club in England and the place where his son will bring titles to. “Radamel is a person who has given a lot in Europe and has always deserved the best for all the effort, all the sacrifices he has made during his football career. United is the most important team in England and one of the most powerful from an economic standpoint. Now it’s his turn to give his best, to be ready and continue to win titles.”
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As to Falcao’s proposed move to the Estadio Bernebeu, Garcia explained: “The deal with Real Madrid did not happen because if you have money and you go to the market to buy a shirt or a pair of trousers, you have to decide whether to buy it or not. Real Madrid chose not to. I don’t know, I have the feeling they wanted the player for free with a number of conditions. In any case, they bought the trousers and shirt they wanted and they considered that to be better. We have to accept it.”
The 28-year-old striker joins Manchester United after completing a nine month rehabilitation program following surgery to repair knee ligament damage suffered in January when he was with Monaco. Before injury struck Falcao had tallied 11 goals in 20 appearances for the Ligue 1 side just one season after registering 34 goals across all competitions for Atletico Madrid.