French club Monaco have emerged as the club to have reportedly struck a deal with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of their striker Radamel Falcao, who has been on Chelsea’s radar throughout the season.
Falcao began his career at Argentinian club River Plate, a team that has seen the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Mascherano and Alexis Sanchez give their career a kick start at the famous club. The striker then moved to Portuguese side FC Porto, where he scored an impressive 41 goals in 51 appearances for the club in two seasons. The next move was to his current Spanish side Atletico Madrid, where he has scored 51 goals in 65 appearances.
According to Dailymail, Chelsea have been admirers of Falcao’s talent, and also witnessed his abilities against them, when the Columbian scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Super Cup final to win the competition comprehensively. Since then, the 27-year old has been the target for Europe’s top clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester City and the Blues.
The Blues were reportedly preparing an offer for the striker, when the release clause in his contract became an issue. The clause is a sizable amount, enough for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to refuse to pay. Then came in Monaco, who are the most recent club to have shown interest, and according to reports emerging in France, the club’s owner Dmitry Rybolovlev has struck a deal for the striker, also wiping away the release clause problem by financing the same. As for the transfer sum, it is reported that the number is £50 million, in a mega deal that would earn the striker a whopping £8.2 million a year.
Reportedly, Falcao’s desire is to play for Real Madrid, and this deal ensures that if a sizable offer comes in from the Whites at the end of his first season at Monaco, he has the option to leave. The owner of the club wants to challenge the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, who have been replenished by new owners and a huge cash influx.
It will be interesting to see whether Abramovich decides to top the offer by Monaco, as Chelsea need a major striker to ease the pressure off midfielders like Eden Hazard to score goals or will he look to land Wayne Rooney instead?