Atletico’s Falcao Could Come To Russia, Says Mostovoi
By Ria Novosti
A monster salary could attract Colombian striker Falcao to a Russian club after he starred in Atletico Madrid’s victorious Europa League campaign, former Celta Vigo and Russia midfielder Aleksandr Mostovoi told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
Falcao scored 12 goals in the main stage of the tournament, including two in the final, where he was named man of the match as Atletico beat Spanish rivals Athletic Bilbao 3-0 on Wednesday.
“There’s no element of fantasy about it,” Mostovoi said, when asked if a move to Russia was possible.
Falcao could follow in the footsteps of triple Champions League winner Samuel Eto’o, who is reportedly the world’s highest-paid player since moving to Russian club Anzhi in August.
“In any case, Eto’o moved to Anzhi for huge money. If Falcao is offered five times more [than he is getting], I think of course he’ll come.”
Money on its own will not be enough to tempt Falcao, who would also like a high standard of football, Mostovoi suggested.
“Falcao is a top player so, above all, he’s not thinking about money, which he’s doing all right for. He’s thinking about football, so he wants to play where he can enjoy himself.”
Falcao joined Atletico from Porto in August for a reported fee of 40 million euros, after winning the 2011 Europa League with the Portuguese club. The son of a professional footballer, Falcao has played 35 games for Colombia, scoring 11 goals.
