Radamel Falcao ‘cried’ over Manchester United woes, claims friend

Having been told that he was to play for Manchester United’s Under-21 team against Tottenham last week, the Colombian striker reportedly called friend and former agent Silvano Espindola claiming that he was unsure of how to deal with his current plight.

Falcao has notched just five goals since joining Manchester United on loan from Monaco in the summer and was sent to play with the reserves by manager Louis van Gaal – although that, too, turned out to be a disaster as the 29-year-old struggled during the match and was hauled off after 71 minutes.

Prior to the announcement that Falcao would feature for the U-21s, Van Gaal denied that it was a humiliation for the striker.

“I let my players play in the second squad. I read a lot in the papers that it was a humiliation. I don’t think so. It was a professional attitude of the manager, the club and the player,” said the United manager. “Falcao has not reacted like the media. That is a big difference. He didn’t play the best but he tried his utmost best. I cannot ask for more.”

However, according to Colombian news outlet AS, Falcao called Espindola on the way to Old Trafford to discuss his inclusion in the squad and his current predicament with the Red Devils.

Espindola told AS Colombia: “When he was on his way to the ground to play this game with the reserves, he called me. We spoke for 20 minutes until he reached the stadium and he told me: ‘I’ve never been through something like this, I don’t know how to deal with this situation. It feels weird for me.”

“We talk a lot. I’m not going to say that he feels happy because he’s not,” Espindola added.

“We’ve spoken many times and cried together. It’s not an easy situation because every player wants to play and every goalscorer wants to score goals, that’s normal.