Radamel Falcao Was One Stage Removed For Being Eligible To Play For England

Radamel Falcao is looking to lead his side to victory of England in Tuesday's last 16 clash, but what you might not know about Colombia's all-time top scorer is that he wasn't far off being eligible to play for the Three Lions due to his Yorkshire roots.

The Monaco captain endured two miserable spells in England, failing to produce the goods on loan at both Manchester United and Chelsea.

But his ties to England don't end there, as Falcao's great grandfather was actually born in Selby, North Yorkshire.

George King, said to have been an accountant and a keen golfer, moved to northern Colombia in 1932 for work with his pregnant wife.

His wife tragically died during childbirth but George remained in South America, remarrying a woman called Juliana over there, before they had five children together: Jack, Roy, Carlos, Telma and Denis - Falcao's grandmother and the mother of his father, Radamel Garcia.

'El Tigre's old man played football professionally and later tried to obtain British citizenship for his son when he was a youngster, in the hope of aiding his chances of playing in Europe. However, he was one branch up the family tree too far to qualify.

"I'm proud of my English blood. Falcao was probably about 13 so I went down to the embassy thinking that a British passport would help him with a move to Europe. But unfortunately it got rejected."

Falcao would make the move to Europe in 2009 from River Plate, scoring a ridiculous 72 goals in 37 appearances. He replicated his heroics at Atletico Madrid after a big move there, notching 70 in 91.

The 32-year old never got going on these shores but his goal record at Monaco is also very impressive, with 67 scored in 101.

Falcao notched his 30th goal for Colombia and his first in a World Cup during the 3-0 win over Poland last week. He will now be on the hunt to add to his tally in Moscow in Tuesday's big game.