Man U paid Monaco £3.5 million for friendly that never took place as part of Falcao deal: Reports

Manchester United reportedly agreed to pay Monaco £3.5 million to play a friendly at the end of the 2014-’15 season as part of the loan deal of forward Radamel Falcao, should the English club finish in the top four, according to the latest Football Leaks revelations.

According to reports, United originally agreed to pay the French club £9 million to take the Colombian on loan. Out of that total, £3.5 million would be transferred only if United finished in the top four of the Premier League.

However, since French football rules prohibits performance-related bonuses, United signed two contracts with Monaco to circumnavigate the rules, according to French website Mediapart.

The first contract was worth around £5.35 million, while the second was for £3.5 million to play a friendly against Monaco in July 2015. The second contract allegedly had a clause stating that United would have to pay the fee even if the friendly did not take place, reported The Daily Mail.

Falcao turned out to be a flop for United, scoring only four goals in 26 appearances that season. United did finish fourth that season but Louis van Gaal, who was the club’s manager back then, decided to not play the friendly with Monaco, the report added. United also chose not to exercise the option to turn Falcao’s loan contract into a permanent one.

Falcao was eventually snapped up by Chelsea on loan the following season, but the Colombian flopped in London as well, scoring just one goal in 10 appearances for the Blues. He eventually returned to Monaco for the 2016-’17 season and has been playing there ever since.

Falcao has revived his career after returning to France, as he helped Monaco win Ligue 1 in his first season back. He was the top-scorer in that season with 30 goals in 43 appearances. He was even nominated for the Ballon d’Or in 2017.