Louis van Gaal believes Radamel Falcao’s agent was unhelpful when he said that the Manchester United striker’s future is uncertain, and the manager believes the player has to prove that he should stay at the club beyond his season-long loan.
This week Jorge Mendes said: “The truth is, right now we don’t know what will happen. What we do know is that he will play in one of the very best clubs in the world next season, whether that is Manchester United or not.”
Falcao was dropped for Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Southampton at Old Trafford, and the Colombian has scored only three times in 13 appearances for United.
Asked about Mendes’s remarks, Val Gaal said he was not interested what the agent said but it was an unhelpful intervention. “It doesn’t interest me. I think it is the obligation of the manager that you observe, analyse your selection, that you make a game plan, that you communicate with your players, then you make a decision that the players understand but that is not so easy. Now you are only talking about Falcao but do you think about Januzaj? Lindegaard?” the manager said, referencing two other players not in Sunday’s game-day 18.
Van Gaal is adamant that if United are to pay Monaco around £43m to sign Falcao permanently the 28-year-old has to earn the move. “He has to prove himself,” the Dutchman said. “We have agreed because of that we have made this deal and everything is clear and it is not till the end of the year so he has a chance for that. It is the quality of the training sessions and quality in his matches [that counts]. If a player cost £95m or £5,000 it is not any difference for me. A player of £95m has to prove yourself too. I have to be like that. It is difficult for the outside world to understand. I think he [Falcao] is generally happy.
“I have spoken to him but I always speak with the players. I am a good communicator, so that is not a big exception,” the 63-year-old said. “But he was not in the squad, so then you talk more with this kind of player because for them it is a big disappointment. I wanted to explain what he has to do in the future.”
Robin van Persie’s ankle problem could offer Falcao a route back into the side. “You will have to wait and see,” Van Gaal added.
