By Andrew Gibney, Featured Columnist Sep 10, 2014
Selling your two most high-profile signings is never ideal for any football club, and when you then fail to replace them and face a season of uncertainty, it is never going to please supporters of your club. However, the original project at AS Monaco may have failed, but a new era is underway on the French Riviera, and this new project has a much brighter future long term, rather than aiming for a quick win without any substance.
Twelve months ago, Monaco unveiled the signings of Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho for a combined fee of €130 million. It was an amazing initial outlay and it put Monaco in direct competition with Paris Saint-Germain for the Ligue 1 title. Ultimately they would finish nine points behind the champions, but for their first season back in Ligue 1, it was a valiant effort.
The expectation was that the club would build on this success, strengthen the squad, and challenge PSG this season.
After an exceptional World Cup, Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez was subject of interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid, and there was no way Monaco could say no to a bid of €80 million, almost double what the Monegasque club paid only 12 months previously.
No matter the standing of your club, or whatever the plans of the project, you can’t reject making a 100 percent profit on any player, regardless of talent.
Monaco’s vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has denied that Russian billionaire Dimitri Rybolovlev has gotten cold feet over the project, per Paul Doyle of The Guardian, but it’s now a case of outside factors have had to change the plans significantly.
Financial Fair Play has taken its toll, not that Monaco have breached the sanctions, but in order to avoid any future fines, the purse strings have to be tightened now, rather than once the club exceeded the agreed amount of expenditure.
Also, the agreement to pay the French league €50 million over two seasons to appease the matter regarding Monaco’s tax-haven status, is something that wasn’t part of Rybolovlev’s plans when he bought the club. Vasilyev hinted that had the Russian known about these extra costs, he might not have bought the club in the first place.
The €6 million loan deal to send Radamel Falcao to Manchester United may seem a strange move for a club trying to compete in both the league and Champions League, but the Colombian striker’s wages were too high for the club to sustain, especially after his mediocre return during his first season.
Monaco now has to put faith in their new project and look to build a future within their new budget. Vasilyev and Rybolovlev need only look to other sides in Ligue 1 for inspiration. Olympique Lyonnais, Lille OSC and Saint-Etienne are all in the midst of similar projects, each with their own degree of success.
Lyon famously won the Ligue 1 title for seven straight seasons between 2001 and 2008, and owner Jean-Michel Aulas followed a strict plan to help dominate the French league, one that has only recently fallen apart. OL’s blueprint was to sign the best young players in Ligue 1, develop them, and then sell the players for a huge profit.
Florent Malouda, Michael Essien, Karim Benzema, Eric Abidal and Hugo Lloris are just some of the high-profile names that Lyon developed and sold during their triumphant period. It wasn’t until Aulas sanctioned the more expensive moves for Yoann Gourcuff and Lisandro Lopez that Lyon’s success started to disappear.
Recently, both Lille and Saint-Etienne have had a lot of success in selling their star players for huge amounts, then buying cheaper replacements, then repeating season after season. This is the style of club management that Monaco is now looking to replicate.
The €6 million signing of Rennes midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko signals the start of Monaco’s new more sustainable project. The 20-year-old played only 17 games for Rennes last season, but attracted the attention of Monaco and was also named as one of the best young players in France by French Football Weekly.
Vasilyev will be hoping that over two or three years Bakayoko will continue to develop and then he can be moved on for a much larger fee.
Coach Leandro Jardim will be expected to help the development of other talented youngsters like Layvin Kurzawa, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Anthony Martial, to then sell them on for a profit. Jardim had success of this type of project at Sporting Braga and Sporting Lisbon, which is one of the reasons he was chosen to replace Italian Claudio Ranieri.
Rybolovlev might not be able to give the club the same amount of backing as his Parisian counterparts, but signings like the amount paid by Bakayoko, still put them on a level above the other clubs in Ligue 1.
Last season Lille finished third in the league and their two major summer signings – Sebastien Corchia and Michael Frey – combined didn’t cost as much as Bakayoko. Fourth-placed Saint-Etienne didn’t spend a penny on their two summer acquisitions Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Ricky van Wolfswinkel.
Monaco now has the chance to follow in the footsteps that Lyon set up around 13 years ago. They may not go on to win seven straight Ligue 1 titles due to PSG’s domination, but seven years of finishing in the top three and Champions League football should be deemed a huge success at the Stade Louis II.
Published on http://bleacherreport.com/
