Scott Gaynor
Radamel answering my question of how
big the cheque they’re offering is.
If
Radamel Falcao signs for AS Monaco this summer, the integrity of the game,
rather than Atlético Madrid, will be the real loser. Spanish station ‘La Sexta’
ran with a piece this week detailing that Claudio Ranieri’s men had made a move
for the Columbian international, and the French paper L’Equipe are also now
running the story. Yes, we live in a world where money talks, but this move
would surely top the lot.
I
was fortunate enough to be at the Aviva Stadium for the Europa League final
between F.C. Porto and S.C. Braga and Falcao himself scored the winner in a 1-0
victory for Porto. Porto had an incredible front two with Falcao and Hulk
leading the line and if this transfer comes off it looks like they’ve more in
common than the fact both played under André Villas Boas in Portugal.
Hulk
has since left Portugal and teamed up with Zenit St. Petersburg for a fee of
£32 million. Similarly to Falcao’s situation now, Hulk could have potentially
joined the bulk of the traditional big European clubs, challenging for trophies
in the biggest leagues. But instead he went off to Russsia for a big pay day.
Maybe that’s a bit harsh. Maybe it was his childhood dream when he played on
the sandy beaches of Brazil to put the Russian league on the map instead of
challenging for top European and International honours. Yeah, I didn’t think so
either.
Falcao and Hulk appear to have
similar ambitions in the game.
Falcao
has been linked to some of the European big guns, as constant speculation
connects him with a move to Chelsea with Fernando Torres’ long-term future in
doubt. If José Mourinho takes charge at Stamford Bridge, as is expected, he
certainly fits the profile of someone that the Special One would look to bring
in to shake up the squad.
So
why would he want to join a soon-to-be newly promoted French side? Well they do
have ambitions plans and are being backed by a Russian owner Dmitry Rybolovlev.
He wants to put Monaco on the map as a top football club alongside PSG in
France and on the European stage and there is talk that former Chelsea boss
Ranieri has over €200 million to form a team with lofty ambitions. Falcao has a
release clause of €60 million and Monaco are believed to be willing to trigger
it.
But
Monaco haven’t won the top league in over 13 years and were relegated in 2011.
Carlo Ancelotti and PSG already have a big head start on them in terms of
putting a squad together to go and challenge the European elite. I do see the
attraction of the surroundings, but can’t he go there on
a well-earned holiday after a tough campaign at a club in the upper echelons of
European football. Yes Monaco will pay big, but does it really matter if you’re
on £300,000 a week instead £200,000? He’s going to be paid top dollar wherever
he goes so I can’t see why he doesn’t have ambitions to play for a bigger club.
Learn
from Hulk’s mistake Radamel. Don’t Mona-go. (I couldn’t resist)
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