Advertisement

Radamel Falcao's Manchester United switch eclipsed by Asamoah Gyan's move to Al Ain

Asamoah Gyan's loan move to UAE giants Al Ain in 2011 remains the most expensive in football history despite Radamal Falcao's deadline day switch to Manchester United.

Falcao, 28, put the finishing touches to his blockbuster move to Old Trafford late on Monday night after a whirlwind 24 hours which had, at various stages, seen the player linked with Real Madrid, Manchester City and Arsenal.

However, it was United who won the race after agreeing to pay in the region of £6million for the Colombian's services with the option of making the deal permanent at the end of the season for an additional £44m.

With reports on Tuesday claiming Falcao will earn excess of £300,000-per-week, the deal represents a huge show of faith from United given the prolific striker missed the second half of last season with a serious knee injury.

However, despite the eye-watering numbers involved, the loan fee still does not eclipse the world record £6.5m fee Al Ain paid Sunderland to sign Gyan three years ago.

 

It proved to be money well spent for Al Ain though as Gyan top scored in his debut season in the UAE Pro League (now the Arabian Gulf League) with 22 goals as the club clinched a record 10th league title.

Gyan's stay in the Garden City was made permanent during the close season before he again repaid the faith shown in him by firing Al Ain to another league title and picking up the region's Golden Boot award.