Arriving in Manchester as what should have been of one the star signings of the 2014-15 season, Falcao’s time in England really, really didn’t go to plan.
A poor season at Old Trafford was followed by an equally dreadful season at Stamford Bridge under José Mourinho, scoring only one goal in 12 appearances for Chelsea during that time.
Sure, injuries hampered the amount of time he got to spend on the pitch, but it was very clear the Colombian striker was far from his former best, clearly struggling from his severe knee injury that kept him out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Now back at Monaco, ‘El Tigre’ enjoyed a good start to the season back in Ligue 1, scoring four goals in his first seven appearances, before suffering a concussion after a strong collision with Yoan Cardinale, Nice’s goalkeeper.
Now on his way back, the player is expected to be back in the squad against Nantes on Sunday, and Leonardo Jardim, Monaco’s manager, was asked, relayed by L’Equipe, about the player’s difficulties in the past and if he felt Falcao was over them.
He said: “Falcao’s problem wasn’t just his knee injury, it was also the fact he went to play two seasons elsewhere, in Manchester then at Chelsea. He tried to carry on at the top level, when, if you have that kind of injury, you normally stay at your club to come back faster.
“When a player gets injured, he doesn’t normally change club, and it’s not easy to recuperate and play at the same time. Players aren’t machines. I don’t know if it was a mistake, but it didn’t work out. He didn’t play, but it wasn’t a quality problem because he remains one of the best strikers.”
