Man City and Chelsea on Falcao alert as Club places £48m on striker

RADAMEL FALCAO

The Colombian who is due to face Paraguay in a World Cup qualifier this weekend has been the subject of transfer talk for some time and was heightened this week after Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, travelled to the Spanish capital on Sunday.

Chelsea are also understood to be interested in the player who underlined his billing as one of the world’s leading strikers by scoring a hat-trick against the European Cup winners in the Uefa Super Cup in August.

Previously, though, Atlético president Enrique Cerezo had played down suggestions that Falcao was not for sale.

"We know that Mancini has come to watch, but we are calm on the subject of Falcao.” Cerezo said at the weekend. “I suppose Mancini is here to look for a house in Malaga!"

However, general manager Gil Marin has now said: "€60 million (£48m) for Falcao would solve all the economic problems at Atlético.

"I can say for sure, though, that he will stay with us until the end of the season. Not only will he stay, but so will all the players that the coach wants to stay.
"We will fight to perform a miracle which is what we are doing with what we have available.
"In Europe there are 50 clubs with more income than we have. If we were to sell Falcao for €60m, then that would cover our debts."