Atletico Madrid cannot afford Radamel Falcao, says club president Enrique Cerezo - Report
Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has downplayed a move for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Radamel-Falcao-c30276 and citied financial constraints as the reason why the club cannot acquire his services.
The Madrid-based club face the prospect of losing their status as a top club in La Liga following the departure of Sergio Aguero to Manchester City.
Aguero was amongst the most prolific strikers in Europe during his stint at the Vicente Calderon and notched nearly 20 goals every season. With such a goalscoring record, it was no wonder that a host of elite clubs in the continent were eager to secure the
services of the 23-year-old.
In the end, however, the striker rejected offers from the likes of Real Madrid and chose to become the latest signing at the City of Manchester stadium.
While the Colchoneros did indeed suffer a blow with the Argentine’s exit, the consequences have been softened with the remuneration they received for parting ways with their star asset.
Sheikh Mansour splashed out a mouth-watering €35 million to land Aguero and the money should help Atletico find a suitable replacement for the attacker.
The Madrid outfit had reportedly set their sights on acquiring the talents of Radamel Falcao, who was not only outstanding in Europe but managed to steer Porto to an unprecedented treble.
The 25-year-old bagged 17 goals in the UEFA Europa League last season and broke Jürgen Klinsmann’s all time record of highest number of European goals in a single season. With an almost unmatched eye for goal and great all-round ability, the former River
Plate man was touted with a big money move to Chelsea.
However, the Blues never reached an accord with their Portuguese counterparts and talks broke down. This paved the way for Atletico to lodge a bid but President Cerezo claims that the club did not make any offer to the Portistas and are not in a financial
position to divulge in a marquee signing.
"We like Falcao, but he is expensive. We know that Porto are asking for and there were not even any contacts," Enrique Cerezo was quoted as saying.
Another problem the Rojiblancos might have had to counter was that not only did the Dragons convince their star man to pen another deal but raised his buyout clause to a whopping €45 million. The amount alone could have ended the hopes of Atletico signing
him but also Falcao made his intention of playing for Porto clear, which in the end, ruled out any chance of a transfer.
With the Columbian now looking to stay at Estadio do Dragao, Enrique Cerezo and his club can turn their attention to other targets that are within their limited budget.
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