Monaco confirmed the signing of one of the most coveted forwards in Europe with Radamel Falcao putting pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Ligue 1 club.

Monaco have been on a summer spending spree similar to the ones experiences by the likes of Paris Saint Germain, Manchester City and Chelsea in previous seasons, with the club determined to challenge Paris Saint Germain for the title next season.

Falcao was a major target for Chelsea, in particular, and it will be seen as a major coup by Monaco having secured the Colombian international's signature for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in excess of £50 million ($76 million).

"Monaco are happy to announce we have reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid and the player Radamel Falcao for the transfer to Monaco beginning with the season 2013-14," the club said in a statement.

"The Colombian international striker has signed for five years."

Falcao, who said a teary goodbye to the Atletico Madrid fans last weekend, also announced the signing on his Twitter account.

"I want to share with you that I will be player of @ASMFC_MONACO next season," he wrote. "I'm eager to start this challenge! I count on you (sic) support!"

Monaco, funded by billionaire Russian Dmitry Rybolovlev, have already captured FC Porto pair Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez while Ricardo Carvalho is set to join the club on a free transfer from Real Madrid.

Falcao now becomes the fourth player who has played for Porto to sign for Monaco, and Rybolovlev could not be happier with the situation.

"We are very happy that Radamel Falcao has chosen the challenge of AS Monaco for the future," he said.

"It's something to be proud of for us to be able to count on one of the best players in the world in order to allow ASMFC to get back to where we belong."

The likes of Falcao and Moutinho could yet not even be able to take part in Ligue 1, with the other clubs in the French league currently in dispute with Monaco over the fact that they do not have to pay any taxes owing to the fact that they are from the Principality.

Monaco are expected to win the lawsuit filed by them after Ligue 1 passed a motion which would have prevented the club from participating in the league unless they paid taxes in France; but it remains to be seen how long it takes for the decision to be made and if they will be allowed to start the season come August.