'I joined Man Utd at the wrong time - I wanted Chelsea transfer years before'

Manchester United will hope for a more fruitful deadline day next week than the one they experienced 12 years ago. The summer transfer window closes at 11pm UK time on September 1, and the chaos involving the day is something Radamel Falcao has first-hand experience of.

The Colombian striker stunningly joined the Red Devils on the last day of the summer window in 2014, alongside fellow new recruit Daley Blind. Falcao joined on a season-long loan from Monaco and had recently returned from an ACL injury.

Despite his goalscoring prowess at Porto and Atletico Madrid, the striker never recaptured that form at Old Trafford, scoring just four goals in 29 games across all competitions. Falcao's lack of success, however, didn't stop Chelsea from taking a punt on him the following summer.

He returned to England with the Blues in 2015 on another loan deal but struggled with injury and played just 12 games throughout the season, scoring only one goal. The 40-year-old opened up about his stint at Old Trafford on his former Atletico team-mate Mario Suarez's podcast, 'El camino de Mario', earlier this year.

Falcao cited United's lost direction and their appointment of Louis Van Gaal as factors that marred his Manchester experience. He said: "I arrived at the wrong time: Ferguson had just left and the club was adrift. They kept making mistakes. Van Gaal was there, which is complicated.

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"The good thing about him is that he tells you things to your face. He told me the truth. Or his version of it. I was a regular starter, I went off to play for the national team and came back, and he told me he wanted to change the system. 'I'm going to put Van Persie ahead of you,' he told me.

"I could see there were interests at play beyond simply choosing one player over another. Anyway, he ended up falling out with Van Persie and Robin left the club after that." Despite joining Chelsea after leaving United, Falcao admitted he had actually wanted to make the move to west London years before it happened.

Upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge, Falcao told Chelsea TV: "I talked with Juan [Cuadrado] before I came to Chelsea but I had decided I would like to join Chelsea some years ago. The media talked about me and Chelsea and it was not possible but this summer finally I come.

"He [Ricardo Carvalho] spoke with me about the club and told me how big is Chelsea and that he had a very good time here. He enjoyed it a lot and he is grateful to the team. He is also a very good defender."

Falcao opened up about his experience playing under Van Gaal, claiming that he was subject to "humiliation" by the Dutch manager. He explained: "That's what I don't understand about him. He says that if someone isn't playing, they should go with the reserves, but if you're Radamel Falcao or Victor Valdés, spare yourself the humiliation, I think.

"As [Marcelo] Bielsa says, I had to swallow my pride and go play." Since leaving Chelsea, Falcao returned to Monaco before joining Galatasaray in 2019.