Falcao's love for Chelsea as father reveals Premier League move 'very likely'

The father of Atletico Madrid striker, Radamel Falcao, claims it is "very likely" his son will move to the Premier League in January and revealed his love for Chelsea.

Falcao, 26, remains the toast of the red and white half of Madrid after 'El Tigre' netted a first-half hat-trick in his side's 4-1 mauling of Chelsea in the European Super Cup last Friday.

Described by many as the finest performance from a striker for years, the Colombian is unsurprisingly the subject of much transfer speculation with a move to the Blues heavily mooted.

And his father, also called Radamel, has done little to quell talk of a move to England when the transfer window opens again in January by claiming his son was a boyhood Chelsea fan.

He claims Manchester City and unnamed Russia club are also chasing his son's signature, although reports in South American claim a £48million pre-agreement with Chelsea is already in place.

Radamel Snr has refused to be drawn on that but did reveal the prolific marksman - the first man to net in successive Europa League finals - favours a move to the England's top-flight.

"There are three teams interested - Manchester City, Chelsea and a Russian team,’ said Falcao's father. "Falcao has always wanted to play in the Premier League.

"Ever since he was a boy he has loved Chelsea and has always thought it would be an honour to play for a big Premier League team."

He added: "I don’t want to talk about any pre-agreements. I spoke to Falcao very briefly yesterday. The minimum release clause in his contract with Atletico Madrid is about 55million Euros, but Falcao doesn’t want to talk figures."

When asked about the chances of his son playing in the Premier League by the time the next transfer window closes, his father confirmed: "Yes, it’s very likely."

There has already been some talk that Falcao's agent, Jorge Mendes, is at the centre of Chelsea's bid to take the player to Stamford Bridge having enjoyed close links with the club in the past.

The Portuguese 'superagent' has been involved in a host of player transfers to the club while he also played a crucial role in Jose Mourinho's appointment as boss back in 2004.

Atletico, though, have promised to do all they can to keep their talisman, hailed by readers of Sport360° this week as the best striker in world football, at the Vicente Calderon.

“There is only one Falcao and he is ours,” said the club's majority shareholder Miguel Angel Gil. "He is a great team player. We are going to fight to keep him.”

 

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