French publication reveals Chelsea deal for Radamel Falcao was close to completion before Roman Abramovich intervened.
Chelsea agreed a deal to sign Radamel Falcao from Atletico Madrid in summer 2012 but Roman Abramovich pulled the plug on the transfer at the last minute, according to a report in French publication Le10Sport – as published on the excellent SportWitness.
The Le10Sport story claims that Chelsea offered €40 million (approximately £33.4m at today’s rates) plus Fernando Torres for the Colombian goal machine, but at the last minute their Russian oligarch owner had a change of heart.
After all, Abramovich spent £50m on Fernando Torres – a British transfer record – and accepting such a huge loss on the Spain international would no doubt prove a difficult pill to swallow.
Abramovich retained faith that Torres would come good at Stamford Bridge, but despite his confidence, the striker could only manage eight Premier League goals in 2012-13 – a rather stark comparison to the 28 Falcao managed in 34 matches in La Liga.
Falcao cost AS Monaco around €60 million (£50.1m) when he signed for the principality club in the summer.
Chelsea could have had him for a similar figure just over a year ago.
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