Football
ESPN staff 9y

Radamel Falcao thanks Manchester United for taking a gamble on him

Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao has thanked the club for showing faith in him and taking a gamble on his fitness.

Falcao, who is on loan at United for the season from Monaco, is expected to join the club permanently next summer as long as there has been no set-back in his recovery from the cruciate knee ligament injury he suffered in January. He said recently that he wants to stay at the club for years to come.

Surgery ruled him out of Colombia's World Cup squad, and while he returned to action in Ligue 1 with two goals in three appearances at the start of this season he admits United took a gamble on him on deadline day.

The striker opened his goalscoring account at Old Trafford on Sunday, netting what proved to be the goal that secured a 2-1 victory over Everton to send United up to fourth in the Premier League.

"Manchester United were the ones that gambled on me when it was very difficult to do so," a grateful Falcao, who has a parrot named Coco that squawks "goal from Falca" every time he nets, told Onda Cero. "It has been a very difficult year, not just in my professional career.

"What happened at the start of the year [the injury] affected me in every way, but it has also helped me grow as a human being, to think about many things, to mature.

"In terms of my thoughts and plans for the future, I want to stay at Manchester United for the coming years.

"I'm still going to need some time to be OK, but I am feeling very comfortable and very good on the pitch, in harmony with myself, with the ball and with football."

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