Chelsea Football Club had agreed terms with Monaco for the season-long loan of Radamel Falcao was made yesterday 3 July 2015.
The Colombian international therefore links up with Jose Mourinho’s squad for the 2015/16 campaign and said: 'I am very happy to be joining Chelsea and can't wait to start training and help with our aim of retaining the league title and being successful in Europe.'
The 29-year-old has built a reputation as one of Europe’s most feared strikers, having started his career as a teenager in his homeland before joining Argentinian giants River Plate in 2001.
Eight years later, having established himself as one of South America’s hottest properties, Falcao arrived in Europe at Porto, where he made his Champions League debut against Chelsea. He may not have scored that evening but soon began finding the net regularly as he lifted successive Europa League titles, first with Porto and the second after joining Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011.
Having scored a hat-trick against the Blues in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup, the striker left Madrid for Monaco in the summer of 2013, enjoying an impressive first half of the campaign before injury ruled him out of the rest of the season and the following summer’s World Cup.
After two goals in three games at the beginning of last season, he joined Manchester United on loan for the campaign, helping Louis van Gaal’s side back into the Champions League.
The striker scored 72 goals in two seasons for FC Porto between 2009 and 2011, before joining Atletico Madrid.
After 70 goals in two prolific seasons with the Spanish side, Monaco signed him for £50m in 2013.
He suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage in January 2014 and joined United on loan that summer but had a disappointing time at Old Trafford.
Falcao is now reunited with former Atletico team-mates Thibaut Courtois, Filipe Luis and Diego Costa, as well as international colleague Juan Cuadrado.
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Credit: Chelsea FC
