Atletico need top four finish to keep Falcao
Reuters - Thursday 10 May 2012, 11:12
Atletico Madrid need to secure
Champions League football next season if they are to hang on to
striker Radamel Falcao, club president Miguel Angel Gil Marin
said on Thursday.
The Colombia forward scored two stunning goals to help
Atletico beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the Europa League final on
Wednesday, finishing the tournament as top scorer for the second
season in a row, with 12 goals.
Atletico lie fifth in La Liga, two points short of
fourth-placed Malaga in the last Champions League qualification
berth, and visit relegation-threatened Villarreal in the final
round of matches on Sunday.
"If the club don't manage to qualify for the Champions
League they are going to have a problem in terms of income," Gil
Marin told Spanish radio. "Atletico need to be in the top four.
"If we don't make it, it will be difficult that he stays."
Falcao was signed from Porto for 40 million euros last year after he helped them win the Europa League,
and has quickly found his feet at the Calderon.
Atletico used some of the money raised from selling
Argentine Sergio Aguero and Uruguayan Diego Forlan, who helped
Atletico win the inaugural Europa League in 2010, and the
26-year-old has been their leading marksman with 23 goals in La
Liga this season.
Only Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano
Ronaldo have scored more, but Atletico's earnings are only
around a quarter of Spain's big two, and their lack of financial
clout may force them to cash in on their prize asset.
"[Fernando] Torres went and we carried on winning, and
Aguero went and we continued winning," Gil Marin added.
"The club is bigger than any one footballer."