‘My son rejected Arsenal and Liverpool – Man Utd are the most important team in England’

Radamel Falcao emerged as one of Europe’s top strikers during the early 2010s and rejected some big names before moving to Manchester United in 2014

Colombian marksman Radamel Falcao rejected advances from Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City before joining Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United in 2014.

That’s according to the player’s father, who revealed that his son chose the Red Devils from a range of Deadline Day suitors because they are the most important side in England.

Falcao made a name for himself at Porto, and upon arriving in the Spanish capital with Atletico Madrid in 2011, quickly developed into one of the deadliest goalscorers in Europe. He won consecutive Europe League titles from 2011-2012 and a 2012 UEFA Super Cup with Atletico against Chelsea.

A spell with Monaco followed, and after recovering from a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, a summer move beckoned in 2014. Van Gaal’s United won the race to sign the Colombian, as he joined on an initial loan with a reported £43.5million option to buy – rejecting European heavyweights and Premier League giants in the process.

Falcao’s father, Radamel Garcia – a former Colombia defender who competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow – revealed the clubs his son rejected to join on loan.

“Manchester United is the most important team in England and one of the most powerful financially,” Garcia revealed to 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.”

However, mere days before the Colombian striker sealed his move to Old Trafford, he posted a tweet reading: ‘Hala Madrid.’ A long-time servant of Real Madrid’s rivals Atletico, Falcao evidently wished to return to the Spanish capital with Los Blancos.

Yet that deal never came to fruition, and he arrived on English soil instead. His father shed light on the failed Bernabeu switch, adding: “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.”

Alas, Falcao’s time in England was dismal when compared to the numbers he mustered in Spain and France. He played 29 times for United during his only season with the club, scoring just four goals under Van Gaal and even being shipped down to play for the club’s Under-21s side.

He subsequently returned to Monaco, only to be immediately sent back to England with long-term admirers Chelsea. This move, a deal similar to United’s – an initial loan with a £38m buy option – went even worse. The striker notched just a single goal before a nasty thigh injury cut short his year-long spell.

Falcao, now 38, is still lacing up his boots, having recently returned to his native Colombia to play for 16-time champions Millonarios, based in Bogota.

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