COMMENT: Twelve months ago, Jose Mourinho took a call from his friend and agent, Jorge Mendes.
"Falcao wants England. Interested?"
Mourinho, however, declined. He couldn't risk taking on Radamel Falcao, particularly with UEFA breathing down their neck.
Now a year on, with Falcao's Chelsea move confirmed, what's changed for Mourinho? Sure, FFP has been watered down. But after a disastrous 12 months at Manchester United, with his reputation as one of the world's great strikers now in shreds, why would Mourinho choose to gamble on the Colombian?
Well, maybe it's that chip on the striker's shoulder. That need for Falcao to hit back at all the pundits now writing him off.
Pulling on a Blue shirt makes Falcao a Chelsea player. But that year at Old Trafford has made him a Mourinho player - and a perfect fit for the current champions.
We've discussed this before, Mourinho has forged this current Blues team to reflect his own mentality: the need to prove - and keep proving - the doubters wrong. Every player he added last summer arrived under a cloud and with something to prove. Falcao is just the latest.
The pay-cut is significant. Falcao went to United last season insisting his £290,000-a-week ASM wages were covered. This time, at Chelsea, he is on less than 50 per cent of that. The motivation isn't financial, it's something much deeper.
What Blues fans can draw comfort from is Mourinho's relationship with Mendes. The Chelsea manager will know everything about Falcao's time at Old Trafford. Where things worked. Where he felt let down. Mendes would not sell Mourinho a pup. The pair would've spent hours considering how to rebuild Falcao's confidence, how to keep him fit and whether Chelsea is the best place for him.
No matter the level, every manager loves a project player. And the opportunity to help Falcao back to his best would've been irresistible to Mourinho.
Proving that he can succeed where Louis van Gaal failed will be embraced by Mourinho - but getting Falcao scoring again goes further than simply one-upmanship.
How will Van Gaal handle the scrutiny, particularly in a close title race, if the difference between United and Chelsea is a free-scoring Falcao? Just look at his reaction, with all those charts and graphs, to Sam Allardyce's claims of 'Long Ball Louie'! Just imagine his reaction if the Dutchman is asked, week after week, about Falcao's latest goalscoring performance for the Blues. The mind games, without us knowing it, may've already kicked off. It's Fergie on steroids. Only this time, Mourinho (just maybe) is playing United like a fiddle.
Even without the behind-the-scenes machinations, on paper it looks a solid deal. Where at United, he often cut a solitary figure, with Chelsea, Falcao finds many familiar and friendly faces. He'll be reunited with several former Atletico Madrid teammates, including Filipe Luis and Diego Costa. And its notable Mourinho confirmed last week that fellow Colombian Juan Cuadrado, despite all the talk of a return to Italy, would be staying for the coming season.
If Falcao doesn't feel comfortable at Cobham, then he never will. Mourinho wants this to work.
For Falcao, the manager knows the motivation is there. And unlike with Van Gaal, Falcao knows he has the manager's total support. This could be anything; Mourinho really wants it to happen:
"If I can help Falcao reach his level again, I will do it," he declared a fortnight ago.
"It hurts me that people in England think that the real Falcao is the one we saw at Manchester United."
A Falcao rebuild at Cobham? Mourinho would just love to pull this one off.