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Falcao: I'll prove doubters wrong

Radamel Falcao is ambitious for both new club Monaco and country © Getty Images

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Radamel Falcao has vowed to silence those critics who have claimed he has made a mistake in signing for Monaco.

Falcao, 27, made his first official appearance as a Monaco player when he was presented to the media on Tuesday, and immediately announced his determination to prove wrong the doubters of his estimated €60 million move to the ambitious principality club.

"It's a new stage in my life and in my career, and I think it can give me another dimension in football terms with regard to the World Cup and my national team," Falcao said. "There's everything you need here to work. The first objective is the league, the other is the World Cup with my country.

"The club is aiming to win titles, I'm at the heart of the project, so I took this decision with a lot of confidence. Many think it's a step down, but I hope they'll see that they were mistaken when I win titles with Monaco."

Should the prolific forward maintain the form in front of goal he has shown in recent months, Claudio Ranieri's side will have an excellent chance of swelling the trophy cabinet at the Stade Louis II.

The former Porto forward, who has struck 47 times in his last 60 outings for club and country, will also likely push the likes of PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the title of the French top flight's leading scorer. Falcao, however, maintained the club's ambitions come before his own.

"I would love to be top scorer, I'm going to fight for that, but it's secondary," he said. "My objective is to score as many goals as required to make Monaco champion. The important thing is for the squad to achieve its aims, that's the basis for everything. If I score a lot of goals while doing that, I'll be delighted."

The summer arrivals of Falcao as well as Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez, Eric Abidal and Jeremy Toulalan, will no doubt also increase Monaco's average gate, which was only 5,295 in Ligue 2 last season. However, following the French Football League's decision to make Monaco play their first home game of the new season behind closed doors, a ruling the club are appealing, Falcao could even make his long-awaited debut in front of empty stands.

"A player's motivation is not linked to whether the stadium is full or not. The ambitions of the club are an extra source of motivation. With or without fans, a victory is worth three points. That's the main motivation for a player," Falcao insisted.

"It'll be up to us, the players, to motivate people to come to the stadium, that there will be more and more of them and that they'll be happy to come and see us. I hope that'll be the case the more we win."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.