Radamel Falcao

Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Categoría Primera A club Millonarios. Nicknamed "El Tigre" (The Tiger), he is considered one of the greatest Colombian and South American footballers of all time. With over 350 goals for club and country, he is the all time top goalscorer for the Colombia national team.

Falcao began his professional career in Argentina with River Plate, where he played with their youth academy from 2001 until 2004 and later won the 2007–08 Clausura tournament. In 2009–10, he joined Porto, where he won several trophies, including the UEFA Europa League, Taça de Portugal and Primeira Liga treble in 2011. In August 2011, Falcao moved to Spanish club Atlético Madrid for a club record €40 million. He was integral in the club's 2012 Europa League and UEFA Super Cup victories as well as their 2013 Copa del Rey final victory over rivals Real Madrid. Falcao was also prolific in La Liga during his time with Atlético, being the third-highest goalscorer in 2011–12 and 2012–13, behind both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Regarded at the time as one of the best strikers in the world, Falcao controversially signed for newly promoted Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2013 for a club record €60 million, despite interest from top European clubs. In the second half of his debut season, an ACL injury ruled him out for six months; he went on to spend the next two seasons on loan at Premier League clubs Manchester United and Chelsea. Rejoining Monaco in the summer of 2016, he regained his best form finishing as the club's top goalscorer in every competition and captaining them to their first Ligue 1 title in 17 years as well as a UEFA Champions League semi-final. Falcao joined Turkish club Galatasaray in 2019, before returning to La Liga in 2021 with Rayo Vallecano. Finally, in 2024, Falcao joined Colombian club Millonarios.

Falcao made his senior debut for Colombia in 2007, and has since earned over 100 caps and scored 36 goals, making him the all-time top scorer of the national team since breaking the previous record of 25 goals in June 2017. He represented his country at the 2011, 2015 and 2019 Copa América. Falcao missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup through injury, but made his World Cup debut at the 2018 tournament in Russia. He also captained the national team various times between 2015 and 2021, until reoccurring injuries affected his availability.

Falcao is one of the all-time top scorers of the UEFA Europa League and holds the record of most goals scored in a single season of the tournament. He set the record for most goals (17) in a European campaign in 2011 and is the first player to win consecutive Europa League titles with two teams (Porto in 2011 and Atlético in 2012) Falcao is Porto's all-time top goalscorer in international club competitions, and is also Monaco's second highest goalscorer this century (83). He was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2012, becoming the first and only Colombian player to achieve this feat. A three-time Ballon d’Or nominee, Falcao finished in fifth place for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, the highest ever Ballon d'Or placement of a Colombian player. He was also awarded the 2012 Globe Soccer Best Footballer. In November 2018, Falcao was honoured by the Atlético Madrid fans with a plaque outside the Metropolitano Stadium.

Club career

Lanceros Boyacá

Falcao made his debut for Lanceros Boyacá in the Colombian Categoría Primera B (second tier) on 28 August 1999, playing the last 40 minutes against Deportivo Pereira at the age of 13 years and 199 days, thus becoming the youngest debutant at that level of Colombian professional football. In 2000, Lanceros' coach, Hernán Pacheco, began to consider the 14-year-old more seriously; Falcao played seven matches that year. On 23 July, at the Estadio Olímpico del Sol in Sogamoso, he scored his first and only goal for the club, to seal a 2–0 win against Club El Cóndor that took Lanceros off the bottom of the table. In his two years with the club, he played eight matches and scored once.

River Plate

After training with Millonarios, who did not take up their option to purchase the player, Falcao was sold to River Plate of Argentina in February 2001, for a $500,000 fee. He began his River career in the youth team, playing in the eighth division of Argentine football. River's coach, Leonardo Astrada, gave Falcao his professional debut in the 2005 Torneo Clausura, on 6 March 2005, in a game that finished in a 3–1 victory for his club against Instituto de Córdoba.

Falcao became a regular in the first team during the 2005 Apertura. He scored twice in a match for the first time in Argentina, on 2 October in a game against Independiente that finished as a 3–1 win for River. On 9 November 2005, Falcao scored a brace, which contributed to a 4–1 home win against Lanús. The following week, he scored two goals in five minutes and assisted Marcelo Gallardo as River won 5–1 against San Lorenzo; however, shortly after scoring his second goal, he suffered a ligament injury and missed the remainder of the Apertura. The Colombian striker ended the campaign with seven goals from as many games under the management of Reinaldo Merlo, who gave Falcao the trust he needed to establish himself in the team.

During pre-season in January 2006, he sustained a more serious ligament injury to the same knee, which required surgery, causing him to miss the entire 2006 Clausura and 2006 Copa Libertadores as he was kept off the pitch for about 7 months. He returned to the field in September, soon after the start of the 2006 Apertura, in which he made 12 appearances, mainly as a substitute; he scored just once, to seal a 2–0 win against Rosario Central on 23 October that took River clear at the top of the table. A few days earlier, he made his debut in CONMEBOL competition, in the last eight of the 2006 Copa Sudamericana against Atlético Paranaense. He was replaced at half-time, and the match finished 2–2; this meant River were eliminated on aggregate, as they lost the home leg 1–0.

He was sent off in his only outing in the 2007 Copa Libertadores, against Colo-Colo on 22 February 2007. Domestically, he made little impression on the 2007 Clausura. He scored in only one of the eight games he played: River's first two goals as they beat Racing Club 4–2 away from home. Falcao scored his first professional hat-trick on 27 September 2007, as River made a historic comeback against Botafogo to win the series 4–3 after trailing 3–1 on aggregate and progress into the quarter-finals of the 2007 Copa Sudamericana. Three days later, he scored in a 3–3 draw against Rosario Central, and the following week, he scored his first goal in a Superclásico as River beat Boca Juniors 2–0. On 26 October 2007, Falcao scored with a long range strike in a 2–2 draw away to Defensor Sporting; a goal which later proved to be crucial as River advanced to the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals on away goals.

River Plate were reported to have rejected a $15 million offer from Milan for Falcao in early 2008, as well as bids from clubs including Aston Villa and Fluminense. On 27 February, Falcao scored, but was red-carded, in a 2–1 win over Club América in the 2008 Copa Libertadores group stage. He was a key player in River's 2008 Clausura title, his first domestic title, scoring 6 goals. His performances linked him with moves to a variety of clubs, including Man United and Arsenal. Nevertheless, he remained with River as they suffered the worst campaign in their history, finishing bottom of the 2008 Apertura, with Falcao scoring 5 goals.

In 2009, the club had a difficult start: they were eliminated in the group stage of the 2009 Copa Libertadores and won few games at the beginning of the 2009 Clausura. Falcao retained his eye for goal and was instrumental in Nestor Gorosito's plans; having matured as a striker in the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons, he scored 35 combined goals in his last two years with El Millonario.

Porto

2009–10 season

On 15 July 2009, Primeira Liga team Porto signed Falcao on a four-year contract worth €3.93 million for 60% of his economic rights after Porto sold striker Lisandro López to Lyon for €24 million. In the transaction, Porto also sold Mario Bolatti for €1.5 million to a third party owner, Natland Financier B.V., in exchange for 35% of the economic rights of Falcao. A week before, Porto rivals Benfica came very close to signing Falcao after making a €4.7 million offer, but the reluctance of the club to pay an additional €700,000 requested by Falcao for awards and delayed salaries dictated the end of negotiations. He made his debut against Paços de Ferreira on the opening matchday and scored an important goal to earn the team a draw. He went on to score three goals in as many games, making him one of the few to score four goals in the first four matchdays of the Portuguese league.