Manchester United has officially signed Radamel Falcao on a loan with an option to buy from Monaco. This happened early Tuesday in a coup by the struggling club on the final day of the summer transfer window.
Man U is paying $9 million to Monaco to take Falco on loan for the season.
According to Falcao "Manchester United is the biggest club in the world and is clearly determined to get back to the top. I am looking forward to working with Louis van Gaal and contributing to the team's success at this very exciting period in the club's history."
It is believed that Man U needed reinforcement after losing all of its opening four matches under Van Gaal. Van Gaal was hired after a slumpy performance of the team under David Moyes last season.
Falcao only joined Monaco from Atletico Madrid last year in a deal worth 60 million euros (then $78 million). But Falcao was not able to play for the whole season as he suffered an injury. When he was in Atletico, Falcao scored 70 goals in 91 appearances, and before then netted 72 in 87 Porto games.
Van Gaal said "He is one of the most prolific goalscorers in the game. His appearance-to-goal ratio speaks for itself and when a player of this caliber becomes available it is an opportunity not to be missed."
Monaco lost two big players to the team, James Rodriguez who was sold to Real Madrid and now Falcao to Man U.
According to Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev "I am sorry to our supporters for the departure of Radamel Falcao. But we felt that once the player had expressed his desire to join Manchester United, we couldn't stop him. It is interesting to see that the biggest clubs want our players."
Monaco no needs to revamp the team after losing players who are crowd magnets. Falcao has helped the team to qualify for the Champions League and not participating in any European competitions this season. Monaco would need to work hard this season and make good with what they have left in order to survive such a competitive game.