Radamel Falcao 'determined' to prove Manchester United misery was a one-off, says Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho

 

Simon Johnson
Sunday 19 July 2015 19:56 EDT
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(Getty Images)

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Jose Mourinho has warned Premier League defences that new Chelsea striker Radamel Falcao is determined to take his Manchester United frustration out on them next season.

Falcao surprisingly joined Chelsea on a season-long loan from Monaco after a miserable spell at Manchester United last term.

The Colombia international scored just four times and suffered the humiliation of being made to play in the reserves.

Mourinho revealed Falcao, who agreed to halve his salary to £130,000-a-week, played a major role in arranging the transfer to Stamford Bridge and is desperate to prove to the nation that he is not a spent force.

Mourinho said: "(This move) It's all about his motivation. When you are not a top player, you never feel frustrated.

"When you are a top player, you have to live with this all through your career and you adapt to it. We felt his frustration.

"He is not happy that in England people think he is not as good as he is and his motivation is there.

"He did a lot of things to come to us. He lost money to come to us, he didn't want to listen to other offers. He helped us a lot to do a deal with Monaco.

"So with all of these things together, we think we can help him and he can help us."

Jose Mourinho takes a training session at Chelsea’s base in Montreal
Jose Mourinho takes a training session at Chelsea’s base in Montreal (Chelsea/PA)

Falcao was once regarded as the best striker in the world while at Atletico Madrid and even scored a hat-trick against Chelsea to help beat them in the Uefa Super Cup Final in 2012.

But he suffered a serious knee injury in January 2014 and rushed his recovery in a bid to be fit for the World Cup that year, only to miss out anyway.

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal didn't appear to have much faith in him and started the 29-year-old just 12 times in the Premier League.

But Mourinho has signed Falcao to replace the departed Didier Drogba and is prepared to give him more opportunities to impress.

Falcao will join up with his new Chelsea team-mates for the first time on Tuesday having been given extended time off due to playing in the Copa America last month.

Chelsea are currently on a pre-season tour of North America and his late arrival means he will not play their first match against New York Red Bulls, which kicks off at 1.10am on Thursday morning English time.

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