体坛英语新闻：Gil: Atletico not to sell Falcao this season

MADRID, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Atletico Madrid's Director General, Miguel Angel Gil has assured fans the club has no plans to sell top scorer Radamel Falcao until the end of the season.

Falcao had a magnificent first campaign for Atletico, scoring 24 goals in the BBVA Primera Liga as well as a decisive brace which helped Atletico win the Europa League final against Athletic Club Bilbao.

He has started this season in even more deadly form, netting eight league goals as well as a hat-trick as Atletico defeated Chelsea in the European Supercup. With Europe's biggest club's clearly interested in the striker, who has a 60 million Euro buyout clause, the temptation for Atletico must be to see him in January in order to help clear the club's massive debts, but with Atletico currently joint top of the league alongside FC Barcelona and eight points clear of Real Madrid, Gil, insists the striker is staying, for the short term at least.

"The 60 million Euros for Falcao would practically end all of Atletico's economic problems," he confessed on radio station, Cadena Cope, before acting to calm the nerves of the club's supporters.

"With all security. He and all of the players that the coach (Pablo Simeone) want to keep, will stay," said Gil, who said he thought it would be very unlikely to see the striker cross town to sign for rivals, Real Madrid.

"If Atletico do not qualify for the Champions League and are unable to play what Falcao asks for, then I don't think Madrid will be able to pay him either," he said, promising the club would work hard to maintain a strong squad.

"We do the impossible and we take risks in order to give the fans the sort of squad that they want. It is difficult to maintain," admitted Gil.