The Champions League hopefuls are disappointed with the departure of their star player, but claim they had no other option but to allow him to leave

Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has admitted that the Ligue 1 outfit would have preferred to hold on to Radamel Falcao, but they felt it would have been wrong to deny the Colombia international his transfer to Manchester United.

The prolific attacker joined Monaco from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2013, but his impact was limited in his first season at the Stade Louis II side due to a serious knee injury sustained in January this year.

Irrespective of his recent fitness woes, Falcao was consistently linked with a move away from Monaco this summer and he eventually signed a one-year loan deal with United on Monday.

“I regret Falcao’s departure, particularly for our fans,” Vasilyev told reporters.

“However, we felt that from the moment the player had expressed his desire to join Manchester United, it would have been wrong to block his transfer.”

The 28-year-old, who missed this summer’s World Cup in Brazil due to his knee injury, netted 11 goals in 20 Ligue 1 appearances for Monaco in 2013-14.