5 of the strangest loan deals of the last decade (2010-2019)

#3 Radamel Falcao – Monaco to Chelsea (2015-16)

Chelsea spent a lot of money on Radamel Falcao's failed loan move

On the face of it, Colombian striker Radamel Falcao’s loan move from Monaco to Chelsea in 2015 made perfect sense; at his peak, El Tigre was one of the world’s most feared strikers, plundering an insane 52 goals in 68 appearances at Atletico Madrid before his move to France. However, during his time at Monaco, Falcao had picked up a serious knee injury, and judging by the seasons that followed, his career appeared to be in ruins.

2014-15 had seen him appear just 3 times for Monaco, and a loan move to Manchester United in the same season was an absolute disaster, with the Colombian striker stinking out the joint during 29 appearances, scoring just 4 goals. That’s why it was so strange when the Blues agreed to take him on loan during the 2015-16 season – paying him an eye-watering £140,000 a week in the process.

Unsurprisingly, Falcao struggled massively at Stamford Bridge, picking up various injuries and ending up being cut out of the Blues’ Champions League squad at the turn of the year. His time at Chelsea ended with him having made just 12 appearances in all competitions, scoring just one goal – an even worse return than he’d managed at Manchester United in the previous season.

Falcao would return to Monaco at the end of the season and eventually regained his form – he’s since scored 70 goals for the French side – but quite why Chelsea chose to take such a risk on him is still confusing, particularly when it wasn’t exactly cheap for them to do so, either.