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He hasn't even been properly linked with a move to Merseyside and already Radamel Falcao has turned Liverpool down. He's also turned down Manchester City and Tottenham according to rumours that suggest all three clubs quietly approached his handlers to sound out a potential move for the 28-year-old star who moved to Monaco last season but who is believed to have been left underwhelmed by his time at the Ligue 1 club.
The reason for him turning down those approaches, which may or may not ever have happened, is believed to be his desire to return to the Spanish capital a year after he left Atletico Madrid for around €60M. Only this time he wants to go to rivals Real Madrid, where he can have his financial cake while playing in a city he's familiar with at the highest level too. The whole thing smells more than a little of agent manoeuvring.
Monaco finished second behind PSG last season in the French league and are automatic Champions League qualifiers as a result. It was widely believed, though, that Falcao had never much wanted to head there and that third party ownership of his playing rights had pushed him towards them as they were the highest bidders. Now he either wants a payday or is hoping for a return to the city he had the best years of his career in.
City, with their financial pull, might have made sense as a club that would have enquired after him, particularly if rumours Alvaro Negredo wants a return to Spain are true. For Liverpool and Tottenham, though, the transfer fee and wages would seem prohibitive, which leads one back to agent manoeuvring for the sake of an improved deal to keep Falcao happy at a club he's not thrilled to be at or to agitate for a move to Real Madrid.
If it's the later, Liverpool fans might find some comfort in the fact it could remove Madrid from any discussion of Luis Suarez' future. So that'd be nice.