Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Nicknamed "El Tigre" (The Tiger), he is considered one of the greatest Colombian and South American footballers of all time. With over 350 goals for club and country, he is the second highest Colombian goalscorer of all time.

Falcao began his professional career in Argentina with River Plate, where he played with their youth academy from 2001 until 2004 and later won the 2007–08 Clausura tournament. In 2009–10, he joined Porto, where he won several trophies, including the UEFA Europa League, Taça de Portugal and Primeira Liga treble in 2011. In August 2011, Falcao moved to Spanish club Atlético Madrid for a club record €40 million. He was integral in the club's 2012 Europa League and UEFA Super Cup victories as well as their 2013 Copa del Rey final victory over rivals Real Madrid. Falcao was also prolific in La Liga during his time with Atlético, being the third-highest goalscorer in 2011–12 and 2012–13, behind both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Regarded at the time as one of the best strikers in the world, Falcao controversially signed for newly promoted Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2013 for a club record €60 million, despite interest from top European clubs. In the second half of his debut season, an ACL injury ruled him out for six months; he went on to spend the next two seasons on loan at Premier League clubs Manchester United and Chelsea. Rejoining Monaco in the summer of 2016, he regained his best form finishing as the club's top goalscorer in every competition and captaining them to their first Ligue 1 title in 17 years as well as a UEFA Champions League semi-final. Falcao joined Turkish club Galatasaray in 2019, before returning to La Liga in 2021 with Rayo Vallecano. Finally, in 2024, Falcao joined Colombian club Millonarios.

Falcao made his senior debut for Colombia in 2007, and has since earned over 100 caps and scored 36 goals, making him the all-time top scorer of the national team since breaking the previous record of 25 goals in June 2017. He represented his country at the 2011, 2015 and 2019 Copa América. Falcao missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup through injury, but made his World Cup debut at the 2018 tournament in Russia. He also captained the national team various times between 2015 and 2021, until reoccurring injuries affected his availability.

Falcao is one of the all-time top scorers of the UEFA Europa League and holds the record of most goals scored in a single season of the tournament. He set the record for most goals (17) in a European campaign in 2011 and is the first player to win consecutive Europa League titles with two teams (Porto in 2011 and Atlético in 2012) Falcao is Porto's all-time top goalscorer in international club competitions, and is also Monaco's second highest goalscorer this century (83). He was named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2012, becoming the first and only Colombian player to achieve this feat. A three-time Ballon d’Or nominee, Falcao finished in fifth place for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or, the highest ever Ballon d'Or placement of a Colombian player. He was also awarded the 2012 Globe Soccer Best Footballer. In November 2018, Falcao was honoured by the Atlético Madrid fans with a plaque outside the Metropolitano Stadium.

Falcao made his debut for Lanceros Boyacá in the Colombian Categoría Primera B (second tier) on 28 August 1999, playing the last 40 minutes against Deportivo Pereira at the age of 13 years and 199 days, thus becoming the youngest debutant at that level of Colombian professional football. In 2000, Lanceros' coach, Hernán Pacheco, began to consider the 14-year-old more seriously; Falcao played seven matches that year. On 23 July, at the Estadio Olímpico del Sol in Sogamoso, he scored his first and only goal for the club, to seal a 2–0 win against Club El Cóndor that took Lanceros off the bottom of the table. In his two years with the club, he played eight matches and scored once.

After training with Millonarios, who did not take up their option to purchase the player, Falcao was sold to River Plate of Argentina in February 2001, for a $500,000 fee. He began his River career in the youth team, playing in the eighth division of Argentine football. River's coach, Leonardo Astrada, gave Falcao his professional debut in the 2005 Torneo Clausura, on 6 March 2005, in a game that finished in a 3–1 victory for his club against Instituto de Córdoba.

Falcao became a regular in the first team during the 2005 Apertura. He scored twice in a match for the first time in Argentina, on 2 October in a game against Independiente that finished as a 3–1 win for River. On 9 November 2005, Falcao scored a brace, which contributed to a 4–1 home win against Lanús. The following week, he scored two goals in five minutes and assisted Marcelo Gallardo as River won 5–1 against San Lorenzo; however, shortly after scoring his second goal, he suffered a ligament injury and missed the remainder of the Apertura. The Colombian striker ended the campaign with seven goals from as many games under the management of Reinaldo Merlo, who gave Falcao the trust he needed to establish himself in the team.