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Falcao was on verge of Madrid move

Radamel Falcao was poised to join Real Madrid from Monaco this summer before moving to Manchester United in a deadline-day loan deal, his father has claimed.

Madrid brought in United striker Javier Hernandez as the transfer window closed on Monday, but the Spanish giants narrowly missed out on Falcao after negotiations over personal terms broke down.

"Things did not work out with Real Madrid because … if you have money and you go to the market to buy a shirt or trousers, you must decide if you will buy them or not," Falcao's father Radamel Garcia told Colombia's LA FM. "Those at Real Madrid decided not to do it, and there was nothing else to do.

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Angel Di Maria was a British record signing © Getty Images

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"I do not know, it gives me the feeling that they wanted the player to give himself away with a set of conditions and things.

"Things did not happen because, as I said, they decided to buy the trousers and shirt they wanted, thinking them the best. That must be accepted, as they are the ones with the money."

Despite Falcao missing out on a move to the Bernabeu, Garcia said he was still happy that his son had ended up with Louis van Gaal at the "economically powerful" Premier League club.

"Thanks be to God everything came through with Manchester United," he said. "Radamel is a person who has given a lot in Europe, and has always deserved the best of everything for his effort, his sacrifice he has put in during his career.

"Manchester United is the most important team in England, and one of the most powerful economically."

There is some doubt over how close Garcia is to his son, with Falcao having issued a statement on Tuesday in which he said it was a "dream come true to join a club like Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world".

The striker also distanced himself from a tweet appearing to be from him that confirmed a move to Madrid before his loan deal was completed.

Real Madrid this summer spent almost £90 million on James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos, leading club president Florentino Perez to sell Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso, to Manchester United and Bayern Munich respectively, in an attempt to balance the books.

The sale of Di Maria and Alonso raised eyebrows among some in the Madrid dressing room, with Cristiano Ronaldo questioning the decision to offload the two players who brought balance to the team's midfield last season.

Madrid were embarrassed 4-2 in La Liga by Real Sociedad last weekend, having already begun the new season by losing the Spanish Supercup to local rivals Atletico Madrid.

But vice-captain Sergio Ramos said that, while he respected the opinions of his team-mates, he will not be following Ronaldo's lead in voicing concerns about the loss of certain players.

"Everyone will have their own opinion and that should be respected," Ramos said. "I am not going to get into any assessments, not of Cristiano or of any individual player.

"We all belong to Madrid and we all must follow the club's laws, its decisions, and not do anything else. I am not getting into it. I have my opinion, but it stays inside because this is not the moment to come to any conclusions about this issue."

Ramos did, however, welcome Hernandez - known as 'Chicharito' - to the Bernabeu as he arrived from United on a season-long loan.

"Anything that brings quality and new players to the club is positive," Ramos said. "In this sense, Chicharito is a player recognised at international level, and I believe he will play an important role in the team."

Radamel Falcao left Monaco this week after joining the Ligue 1 club in a £51 million deal last year © Getty Images

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