Radamel Falcao

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Zárate.
Radamel Falcao
Falcao in 2019
Personal information
Full name Radamel Falcao García Zárate[1]
Date of birth (1986-02-10) 10 February 1986 (age 38)[2]
Place of birth Santa Marta, Colombia[3]
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[4]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Millonarios
Number 9
Youth career
1997–1999 Lanceros Boyacá
2001–2004 River Plate
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Lanceros Boyacá 11 (2)
2004–2009 River Plate 90 (34)
2009–2011 Porto 51 (41)
2011–2013 Atlético Madrid 68 (52)
2013–2019 Monaco 108 (65)
2014–2015 → Manchester United (loan) 26 (4)
2015–2016 → Chelsea (loan) 10 (1)
2019–2021 Galatasaray 34 (19)
2021–2024 Rayo Vallecano 71 (9)
2024– Millonarios 9 (1)
International career‡
2001–2005 Colombia U17 3 (1)
2005–2007 Colombia U20 12 (3)
2007–2023 Colombia 105 (36)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:09, 11 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2023

Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Categoría Primera A club Millonarios. Nicknamed "El Tigre" (The Tiger),[5][6][7][8] he is considered one of the best strikers of his generation,[9][10] and one of the greatest Colombian footballers of all time.[11] He has scored over 350 goals for club and country.[12]

Falcao began his professional career in the Argentine league in River Plate, where he played with their youth academy from 2001 until 2004 and later won the 2007–08 Clausura tournament. In 2009–10, he joined Porto, where he won several trophies, including the UEFA Europa League, Taça de Portugal and Primeira Liga treble in 2011.[13][14] In August 2011, Falcao moved to Spanish club Atlético Madrid for a club record €40 million. He was integral in the club's 2012 Europa League and UEFA Super Cup victories as well as their 2013 Copa del Rey Final victory over rivals Real Madrid.[15] Falcao was also prolific in La Liga during his time with Atlético, being the third-highest goalscorer in 2011–12 and 2012–13, both behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Regarded at the time as one of the best strikers and players in the world, Falcao controversially signed for newly promoted Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2013 for a club record €60 million, despite interest from top European clubs. In the second half of his debut season, an ACL injury ruled him out for six months;[16] he went on to spend the next two seasons on loan at Premier League clubs Manchester United and Chelsea. Rejoining Monaco in the summer of 2016, he regained his best form finishing as the club's top goalscorer in every competition and captaining them to their first Ligue 1 title in 17 years as well as a UEFA Champions League semi-final. Falcao joined Turkish club Galatasaray in 2019, before returning to La Liga in 2021 with Rayo Vallecano.

Falcao made his senior debut for Colombia in 2007, and has since earned over 100 caps and scored 36 goals, making him their all-time top scorer since breaking the previous record of 25 goals in June 2017. He represented his country at the 2011, 2015 and 2019 Copa América. Falcao missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup through injury, but made his World Cup debut at the 2018 tournament in Russia. He also captained the national team various times between 2015 and 2021, until reoccurring injuries affected his availability.

Falcao is one of the all-time top scorers of the UEFA Europa League and holds the record of most goals scored in a single season of the tournament. He set the record for most goals (17) in a European campaign in 2011 and is the first player to win consecutive Europa League titles with two teams (Porto in 2011 and Atlético in 2012)[17] Falcao is Porto's all-time top goalscorer in international club competitions, and is also Monaco's second highest goalscorer this century (83). He was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2012, becoming the first and only Colombian player to achieve this feat.[18] A three-time Ballon d’Or nominee, Falcao finished in fifth place for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, and was also awarded the 2012 Globe Soccer Best Footballer.[19] In November 2018, Falcao was honoured by the Atlético Madrid fans with a plaque outside the Metropolitano Stadium.[20]

  1. ^ "Radamel Falcao Garcia Zarate" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. ^ "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Colombia" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Radamel Falcao". AS Monaco FC. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Radamel Falcao LaLiga Santander". La Liga. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  5. ^ Wilson, Jonathan (6 September 2014). "Powerful Radamel Falcao – El Tigre – is ready to roar for Manchester United". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  6. ^ Masters, Al Goodman,James (28 January 2013). "Falcao: Soccer's 'Tiger' prowls for goals". CNN. Retrieved 20 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "'The Tiger' who tears defences apart". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Falcao, from United to Chelsea?". Marca. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Radamel Falcao Became One of the Top 100 Footballers of the 21st Century". 5 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Ranked! The 100 best players of the 21st Century". March 2023.
  11. ^ "The Top 10 Colombian Soccer Players of All Time". 7 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Falcao, 345 goles y cada vez más cerca del récord de Aristizabal". 6 December 2023.
  13. ^ Das, Andrew (19 May 2011). "Porto Wins Europa League. Can It Get Better Than This?". Goal. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  14. ^ Ehrli, Andres (19 May 2011). "FC Porto: Top 5 Reasons They Won the Europa League". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  15. ^ MacAree, Graham (5 November 2012). "On Radamel Falcao, King of the Europa League". SB Nation. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  16. ^ "Leon Mead MD". 10 February 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  17. ^ "UEFA Europa League all-time top scorers". 18 August 2023.
  18. ^ "FIFA FIFPRO WORLD XI 2012". FIFPro. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ "Falcao recibió el reconocimiento del Wanda Metropolitano". AS. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2020.