#3 Radamel Falcao – £52.5 million
At one point in his career, Radamel Falcao was labelled as the only player close to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The striker’s instincts in the box were second to none and he could score from any given angle.
However, due to a terrible ACL injury during his first season at Monaco, he missed six months of football – including the World Cup in 2014 – and was then shipped off to Manchester United on loan after he made a comeback to the game.
His loan move to the Old Trafford coincided with the worst phase of his career. The former best striker in the world was now a timid entity in the team. He could manage only four goals in his 29 appearances for the club before he returned to Monaco at the end of the season.
After that, another year on loan beckoned – and this time it was with Chelsea – and another year of frustration was lived. Falcao’s time at Chelsea was injury-ridden as he could play only 12 times and score just the one time against Crystal Palace.
Upon his return to France, Monaco manager, Leonardo Jardim, made him the captain of the club. He seems to have rejuvenated his career ever since as he scored 30 times last season in only 43 appearances, helping Monaco win the Ligue 1 title.
