Inside Line: The Real Reason Radamel Falcao Isn't Playing at Manchester United

It is the kind of conflict Louis van Gaal thrives on. A public assertion of managerial authority over an elite footballer. The more famous the name, the grander the salary, the higher the transfer fee the better.

At Manchester United, the Dutchman's victim has been Radamel Falcao.

Begin with the preposterous record of 156 goals in 200 European club appearances with which Falcao arrived at Old Trafford. Add in the €10 million single-season loan fee, €55 million option to buy the Colombian out of an AS Monaco contract worth €9.8 million a year after tax. Then allow one of the game's most dedicated professionals to suffer as his physical condition is questioned from almost every corner.

In a squad that has suffered injury after injury as their new manager employs what many believe to be an over-intense training regime, Falcao has been granted just 62 minutes of Premier League football since mid-October. When Van Gaal has talked about the striker, it has generally been to declare him unfit to play.

November 20 delivered the bizarre scenario of United's manager informing journalists that Falcao had suffered a "new injury" and was not physically capable of facing Arsenal that weekend on precisely the same day that Falcao assured his club's website that, "I am getting better, I feel well and I hope to come back to the pitch soon."

The striker, who'd been recuperating from a calf strain, was not the only man at Carrington wondering what Van Gaal was playing at.

This impasse rolled on into December. Van Gaal's most recent claim was that Falcao "can only play for 20 minutes," though he at least offered a more honest description of his decision-making. "I am not interested in that," said Van Gaal when asked if Falcao would be content with a substitute's role. "He has to follow my philosophy."

Those close to Falcao insist that he has been fit enough to play since last month and believe Van Gaal has employed the forward's supposed lack of condition to achieve other aims.

First, an apparent shortfall of attacking personnel deflected questions over a switch to a more defensive formation. Second, it enabled Van Gaal to re-establish Robin van Persie as United's principal striker. Falcao and Van Persie did not gel well when selected together earlier in the season, so when it came to choosing between the two, Van Gaal favoured the man who'd been a key figure in his Netherlands team.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

The question now is, where does Falcao go from here? Even spendthrift Ed Woodward is unlikely to sanction another €55 million in fees for a substitute striker, so something will have to change for the 28-year-old.

"He really wants to stay in Manchester," says a close friend. "He loves the club, the fans, the city, and even the weather. But he needs a chance to play. Van Gaal loves Van Persie and fitness is an excuse not to play Falcao."

Interviewed this week, per FIFA, Falcao chose his words in characteristically careful fashion:

"

I have to analyse the situation, see if I play more and see what decision the board takes. But from my point of view, I really want to stay.

Every footballer wants to play, no one is happy when they are not playing, when they are on the bench. But whenever I am given the opportunity, whether it be for five, 10, 20 or 90 minutes, I have to give my best.

I am very well. I’m almost at 100 per cent now, let’s wait and see what the decision of the coach is, when he wants to use me more. I feel ready for the moment that the team needs me.

Whenever I have the opportunity to come on I try to do my best for the coach and I try to help the team.

"

Whether Van Gaal decides to allow one of the planet's truly elite strikers to do so remains to be seen.

Duncan Castles writes for The Sunday Times, Sports Illustrated, UEFA Champions magazine and others. A respected figure with an inside track, he has built a reputation for breaking transfer stories.