Radamel Falcao may have played for Manchester United and Chelsea – but it’s Aston Villa who failed to snap him up first.
The 38-year-old is regarded as one of greatest strikers of his generation – and was the first Colombian to score 350 career goals.
Falcao won trophies with Porto in Portugal, with Atletico Madrid in Spain, with Monaco in France and with River Plate in Argentina.
No player has scored more in a single Europa League season than Falcao’s 17 which he mustered in the 2010/11 campaign to help Porto lift the title.
While Falcao is also the only player to score four goals in a knockout tie in Europe’s second-tier competition.
His three hat-tricks in the Europa League is also a joint-high, while he is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Super Cup.
But before he became a household name in Europe, Falcao was banging in the goals for River Plate.
It led to reported interest from Aston Villa – then managed by Martin O’Neill – in the 2008 January transfer window.
Villa at the time were fighting for a place in the Champions League and a first top-four spot since the 1995/96 season.
O’Neill was looking to provide competition up top for Jon Carew, Gabby Agbonlahor, Marlon Harewood and Luke Moore.
And according to the Birmingham Mail, Falcao was the man identified as the player to help the Midlands outfit secure a place in Europe’s premier competition.
It had been said that Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe was also eyed up, along with a swoop to bring Liverpool’s Peter Crouch back to the club.
But it was Falcao that was Villa’s preferred target, with the club looking to raid River Plate once again in the hope of landing another Colombian cult hero.
In 2001, Villa broke their transfer record to sign Juan Pablo Angel in a £9.5million deal.
Angel proved to be a huge hit with Villa’s fanbase, with the forward going on to score 62 goals in 205 outings.
It was reported that Villa had a £5m offer knocked back by River Plate as they looked to fend off interest from clubs across the globe.
Fluminense of Brazil were also vying to secure his services, while AC Milan saw a £12.5m offer.
That offer was claimed to have been ‘laughed out of the room’ by River Plate, with Villa instantly then walking away from a possible deal.
Radamel Falcao career highlights
- River Plate – 2007–08 Clausura
- Porto – Primeira Liga x1, Europa League x1, Tacda de Portugal x2, Super Cup x 3
- Atletico Madrid – Europa League x1, Copa del Rey x1, UEFA Super Cup x1
- Monaco – Ligue 1
Former owner Randy Lerner ultimately deemed Falcao as too expensive and refused to improve on their bid, instead looking to focus on a cheaper domestic target.
It’s a start contrast of Villa today, who are set to splash the cash to sign Marcus Rashford from Manchester United on loan.
Villa, who are in discussions over a buy option for £40m-rated Rashford, will pay the majority of his £350,000-a-week wages.
And unlike the present Villa who have acted fast to sign a forward after selling Jhon Duran, Villa’s dithering over the Falcao transfer saw them miss out on former target Defoe, who had been sold to Portsmouth.
Meanwhile Liverpool refused to part ways with Crouch midway through the campaign.
It left Villa to bring in winger Wayne Routledge from Spurs in a £1.25m deal.
Routledge ultimately failed to impress – making just one Premier League outing as Villa ultimately finished sixth in the table.
O’Neill would eventually get his striker – Emile Heskey the following year – but he would never recognise his Champions League dream at Villa Park.
As for Falcao, he eventually got his move to Europe in 2009 at Porto, where he scored 72 goals in 87 outings.
Loan moves to Manchester United [2014/15] and Chelsea [2015/16] followed later in his career, though he failed to live up to his reputation.
Both of the those deals included an option to turn his temporary switch into a permanent stay, though neither took it up.
While Falcao may have struggled in England, Villa fans will still be left ruing what might have been if they had managed to land him in 2008.