Official: Falcao and Micael Join Atlético

After weeks of speculation, Atlético landed their marquee signing of the summer. Porto confirmed through the Portuguese stock exchange that an agreement had been struck with the Madrid club for Colombian striker Radamel Falcao García and Portuguese midfielder Rubén Micael.

The forward was reported to be joining for a fee of €40 million, with a further €7 million possible if incentives were met, smashing Atlético’s transfer record. The 25-year-old was set to sign a five-year contract.

The announcement itself had a touch of theatre. Fans at the Vicente Calderón watching Atlético face Vitória de Guimarães in the Europa League were surprised at half time when the news appeared on the stadium monitors. For a support that had waited all summer for a statement signing after it was confirmed Sergio Agüero would not be returning, the timing could hardly have been better.

Falcao arrived on the back of a remarkable season. He scored 17 goals in Porto’s title-winning Europa League campaign, surpassing Jürgen Klinsmann’s competition record of 15, and struck the winner in the 1-0 final victory over Braga. Across all competitions in 2010-11 he bagged 39 goals. He had hinted at the move himself: after Porto’s match against Vitória the previous Sunday, he reportedly said “Atlético is a great opportunity for my career.”

Micael, signed for an additional €5 million and widely seen as a condition of Porto releasing Falcao, was to be loaned to Real Zaragoza for one season, according to Telemadrid.

The gamble on Falcao paid off quickly. The Colombian became one of the most prolific strikers in the club’s modern era, and his place among the great Atlético forwards is set out in the legends section. The Europa League and UEFA Super Cup that followed in 2012 sit in the trophy room, his scoring numbers are broken down in the stats pages, and the coverage of his Atlético years, from this announcement onwards, runs through the archive.