AS Monaco FC

Monaco

Full name	Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club
Nickname(s)	Les Rouge et Blanc (The Red and Whites) Les Monégasques (The Monégasques) Le Rocher (The Rock)
Short name	AS Monaco, ASM
Founded	23 August 1924; 100 years ago (1924-08-23)
Stadium	Stade Louis II
Capacity	16,360[1]
Owners	Monaco Sport Investment Ltd (66.67%) House of Grimaldi (33.33%)
President	Dmitry Rybolovlev
Head coach	Adi Hütter
League	Ligue 1
2023–24	Ligue 1, 2nd of 18
Website	asmonaco.com
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco^[2] (French pronunciation: [ɑ.ɛs mɔnako]), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. Founded in 1918, the team play their home matches at the Stade Louis II.^[3] Its training center is situated in neighboring France, in la Turbie.^[4]

Despite not being a French club, Monaco are one of the most successful clubs in French football, having won eight league titles,^[5] five Coupe de France trophies and one Coupe de la Ligue.^[6] The club also played in European football a number of times, and were runners-up in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1992^[7] and the UEFA Champions League in 2004.^[8]

The club's traditional colours are red and white, and the club is known as Les Rouge et Blanc (lit. 'The Red and Whites').^[9] Monaco is a member of the European Club Association. In December 2011, two-thirds of the club was sold to an investment group led by Russian oligarch and billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.^[10] With Rybolovlev's financial backing, the club quickly returned to Ligue 1 and won the 2016–17 Ligue 1, their first league title in 17 years.

Unlike several other European microstates, Monaco has never organized a domestic league and has never sought separate membership in either UEFA or FIFA. As a result, AS Monaco has no domestic league to play in its home country, resulting in it being expatriated into the French league system. AS Monaco is a full member of said French league pyramid, enabling it to represent France in European competitions. There are several other expatriated football clubs in operation around Europe, although AS Monaco is unique in that it represents a nation not a member of the international organizations. Although Vaduz among other Liechtenstein clubs play in the Swiss league system due to Liechtenstein not having a league, those clubs do have a domestic cup in their home country and qualify for European football that way. Two other microstates in Europe have or had teams playing abroad, Andorra and San Marino, although those clubs are separate from existing domestic league infrastructures.

AS Monaco FC was founded on 1 August 1920 as a unification of numerous local clubs based in France and the principality. Then, the multiple sports club of the Association Sportive de Monaco was founded on 23 August 1924.^[11] AS Monaco FC was then absorbed by the latter and became the football section of the enlarged Monegasque sporting club.^[12]

The club's early years were spent in the amateur regional divisions of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, rising rapidly between the leagues in the 1920s. In 1933, Monaco were invited by the French Football Federation to turn professional. The Monégasques' first year of second-division football ended in failure, however, as they were relegated to the amateur leagues the following year. By 1948, Monaco re-acquired its professional status and returned to the French second division; they subsequently consistently finished in its upper echelons, with this sustained effort resulting in promotion to the French first division for the first time in 1953.

In 1960, Monaco coach Lucien Leduc led the club to its first professional trophy, the Coupe de France, beating Saint-Étienne 4–2 in extra time. This initial success was bettered in the following year with the club winning the French Championship for the first time in its history, qualifying for the European Cup. Leduc subsequently led the club to its first League and Cup Double in 1963. Upon Leduc's departure in 1963, Monaco endured a barren run, entrenched in the middle half of the league for the best part of the next decade and alternating between the first and second divisions after 1963. In 1975, Jean-Louis Campora, son of former president Charles Campora, became chairman of the club. In his second season, he brought back Leduc, who immediately won the club promotion to the first division and won them the championship the following year in 1978.^[13][14] Leduc subsequently left the club again in 1979, to be succeeded by Lucien Muller and Gérard Banide, both of whom were unable to halt the club's decline.

The early 1980s saw a steady stream of successes in national competitions. Monaco won a title almost every other year; the Coupe de France in 1980 and 1985, the French Championship in 1982, was Coupe de France finalist in 1984. In the 1985–86 season, Monaco hammered Bordeaux 9–0, one of the biggest wins in club history.^[15]

Disappointingly for Monaco fans, the club could not translate its domestic leadership into European success. Up to this point, Monaco had never passed the first round of any European competition. Monaco lost to Dundee United (1981), CSKA Sofia twice (1982 and 1984) and Universitatea Craiova (1985).^[16]

In 1986, former Ajax manager Ștefan Kovács, who succeeded Rinus Michels and honed his Total Football ideals with the Dutch champions, came out of a three-year "retirement" to manage Monaco, but even he could not bring them success. With the club facing a second barren spell, they signed Arsène Wenger, who had hitherto been relatively unknown, managing Nancy without much success. Wenger's reign saw the club enjoy one of its most successful periods, with several inspired signings, including George Weah, Glenn Hoddle, Jürgen Klinsmann, and Youri Djorkaeff. Youth team policies produced future World Cup winners Emmanuel Petit, Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry. Under Wenger, they won the league in his first season in charge (1988) and the Coupe de France in 1991, with the club consistently competing in the latter stages of the European Cup and regularly challenging for the league title.^[17] The club could have had even greater success in this period, as it emerged in 1993 that bitter rivals Marseille had indulged in match-fixing and numerous improprieties, a view that Wenger had long held.^[17] In 1994, after being blocked by the Monaco board from opening discussions with German powerhouse Bayern Munich for their vacant managerial post after being shortlisted for the role, Wenger was released from the club, several weeks after the post had already been filled.^[17][18]

After Wenger's departure, the club went on to record two further league championships; under Jean Tigana in 1997 and under Claude Puel in 2000. However, as the decade came to an end, rumours were surfacing that the club was facing numerous financial difficulties. In 2003, these financial problems came to a head. Despite finishing second in the league, the club was relegated to Ligue 2 by the French Professional League for amassing a €50 million ($68 million) debt.^[19] Whilst this was reduced on appeal to a ban on purchasing players, it was enough to force President Jean-Louis Campora, who had been in charge for 28 years, to step aside. He was replaced by Pierre Svara, an administrator considered to be close to the principality's princely family but with no footballing experience.^[20]

The following season saw remarkable success on the field, given the club's financial strife. The team, coached by former France/ national team captain Didier Deschamps and featuring stalwarts such as Fernando Morientes, Ludovic Giuly, Jérôme Rothen and Dado Pršo, finished third in Ligue 1 and enjoyed a remarkable run to the final of the UEFA Champions League, beating Real Madrid and Chelsea along the way. However, despite the on-field success, the 2003–04 season was the club's worst financial year in its history. Within 12 months, Deschamps had left as coach and Svara had been replaced by Michel Pastor.^[19]

With Francesco Guidolin hired to replace Deschamps, one of Pastor's first tasks was to hold on to the players who had turned the club into one of the best in Europe. However, he failed to convince them to stay and their replacements were unable to replicate previous successes. Guidolin lasted only one year, before being replaced by assistant coach Laurent Banide who, in turn, only lasted a year, before being replaced by Brazilian Ricardo Gomes. In 2008, after four years at the club featuring six coaches and only mid-table finishes, Pastor left the club amid severe criticism of his management skills.

In 2008, Jérôme de Bontin, a leading shareholder of the club since 2003, took charge of the club, promising a complete shake-up. Under his reign as president, the club brought in players such as Park Chu-young and Freddy Adu, but they did not find much success on the pitch, going through a torrid season and only managing a mid-table finish. De Bontin resigned at the end of the season, replaced by banker Étienne Franzi and a new board of directors.^[21]

In July 2009 Ricardo Gomes was replaced by former Cannes and Rennes coach Guy Lacombe, inheriting a youthful squad featuring numerous highly lauded youth team prospects, including Cédric Mongongu, Serge Gakpé, Vincent Muratori, Frédéric Nimani, Nicolas N'Koulou, Park Chu-young, Yohan Mollo and Yohann Thuram-Ulien.^[22] Lacombe led Monaco to eighth place in Ligue 1 in his first season in charge, but he was unable to replicate this performance in his second season and was sacked in January 2011, with Monaco in 17th place in Ligue 1. He was replaced by former coach Laurent Banide, who was unable to turn around the club's fortunes; Monaco finished the 2010–11 season in 18th, thus becoming relegated to Ligue 2.

In December 2011, 66.67% of the club was sold to the Russian oligarch and billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev (via a trust under his daughter Ekaterina's name) while the club were bottom of Ligue 2.^[10] Banide was sacked due to this poor start to the 2011–12 season, and was replaced by Italian manager Marco Simone. Although he lifted the club to eighth by the end of the season, the club's board targeted promotion for the upcoming season and so fired him and appointed his compatriot Claudio Ranieri, whose attacking style of football saw the club score 64 goals in the 2012–13 season. With the club only losing four times, Monaco finished the season as champions, earning promotion back to Ligue 1. Using Rybolovlev's funds, Monaco were one of the biggest spenders in Europe in 2013, spending roughly £140 million, including a club-record £50 million for Radamel Falcao from Atlético Madrid and £40 million for James Rodríguez from FC Porto.^[23] Monaco finished in 2nd place in Ligue 1 in the 2013–14 season and Ranieri was replaced by Leonardo Jardim. The following season, Monaco cut expenses, selling Rodriguez to Real Madrid for €75m and loaning Falcao to Manchester United. Despite the high-profile departures, Monaco finished in 3rd place in Ligue 1 and made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, defeating Arsenal in the Round of 16 before exiting at the hands of Juventus. Top-scorer from the 2013–14 season Anthony Martial, who managed 12 goals in all competitions, departing for Manchester United in the summer for a fee of €60m, the highest fee paid for a teenager in football history.^[24] This, combined with the sales of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Layvin Kurzawa, Yannick Carrasco, Aymen Abdennour, Lucas Ocampos and others, saw the Monegasque club earn over €180m in the transfer window.

Monaco won the Ligue 1 title on 17 May 2017, defeating AS Saint-Étienne 2–0.^[25] Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappé scored 30 and 26 goals respectively to ensure a first Ligue 1 title in 17 years. Monaco went undefeated for the last 20 games of the season, winning 18 of those 20 games.

In the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, Monaco staged a comeback in the Round of 16, losing the first leg 5–3 to Manchester City^[26] before beating the English side 3–1 at home to win on away goals. Monaco then defeated Borussia Dortmund 6–3 on aggregate before going down 4–1 over two legs to Juventus. In the summer, Kylian Mbappé went to rivals PSG on loan, with the obligation to buy for a fee of €180m,^[27] making it the second-highest transfer fee in history after Neymar. Teammates Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy were sold to Manchester City for over €100m combined and Tiémoué Bakayoko was sold to Chelsea for €40 million. Monaco managed to finish 2nd in the 2017–18 Ligue 1, 13 points behind league winners PSG. In the summer of 2018, Fabinho was sold to Liverpool for €42 million.

Jardim was replaced as coach by Thierry Henry in October 2018 after a poor start to the season.^[28] Henry was suspended from his job in January,^[29] and Jardim returned days later.^[30] Monaco finished the season in 17th, avoiding relegation playoffs by 2 points.^[31] In December 2019 Jardim was fired for the second time in 14 months,^[32] and former Spain manager Robert Moreno was appointed in his place.^[33]

In 2019–20, the COVID-19 pandemic suspended and then curtailed the football season. Monaco ended the season in 9th. Moreno was sacked in July, and replaced by former Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovač, who finished the following season in third position with 78 points and winning 24 matches from 38 (63%). Kovač left at the start of the year 2022,^[34] being replaced by Philippe Clement.^[35] During Clement's tenure spanning two seasons, the club fell short of securing a spot in the Champions League group stages, instead they found themselves competing in the Europa League, where they participated in the initial knockout rounds. In addition, they were unable to secure European football in his last season with a 6th-placed finish.^[36]

On 4 July 2023, Monaco appointed Adi Hütter who signed a two-year deal with the club.^[37] In his first season at the helm, he guided the club to a runner-up finish in the 2023–24 season, and qualification to the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2018–19.^[38]

Monaco played at the original Stade Louis II since its construction in 1939. In 1985, the stadium was replaced with the current iteration, built on a nearby site consisting of land reclaimed from the Mediterranean, which has become a recurring feature of the stadium's seaside surroundings. The stadium is named after the former Prince of Monaco Louis II and houses a total of 18,523 supporters.^[39][40] The Stade Louis II is noted for its nine iconic arches and has hosted numerous athletic events and European Cup finals. Every August from 1998 to 2012, it hosted each instance of the annual UEFA Super Cup, but from 2013 onward, UEFA decided to rotate the event throughout various stadiums.

As of 30 August 2024^[41]

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POL Radosław Majecki 2 DF  BRA Vanderson 4 DF  NED Jordan Teze 5 DF  GER Thilo Kehrer (vice-captain) 6 MF  SUI Denis Zakaria (captain) 7 MF  MAR Eliesse Ben Seghir 8 MF  BEL Eliot Matazo 9 FW  USA Folarin Balogun 10 MF  RUS Aleksandr Golovin (3rd captain) 11 MF  FRA Maghnes Akliouche 12 DF  BRA Caio Henrique 13 DF  FRA Christian Mawissa

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF  SEN Lamine Camara 16 GK  SUI Philipp Köhn 17 DF  CIV Wilfried Singo 18 FW  JPN Takumi Minamino 20 DF  FRA Kassoum Ouattara 21 FW  NGA George Ilenikhena 22 DF  GHA Mohammed Salisu 27 FW  SEN Krépin Diatta 36 FW  SUI Breel Embolo 37 MF  FRA Edan Diop 50 GK  FRA Yann Liénard 88 DF  FRA Soungoutou Magassa

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  SEN Ismail Jakobs (at Galatasaray until 30 June 2025) — DF  FRA Chrislain Matsima (at Augsburg until 30 June 2025) — FW  NED Myron Boadu (at Bochum until 30 June 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  GER Paris Brunner (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2025) — FW  FRA Malamine Efekele (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2025)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  FRA Florian Baranik

As of 22 May 2024^[42]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 33 MF  FRA Mayssam Benama 40 GK  FRA Alain Zadi 42 MF  FRA Mamadou Coulibaly 43 MF  FRA Ritchy Valme 45 MF  FRA Saïmon Bouabré

No. Pos. Nation Player 46 DF  FRA Aurélien Platret 47 MF  FRA Lucas Michal 48 MF  FRA Romaric Etonde 49 FW  ALG Nazim Babaï 70 GK  FRA Jules Stawiecki

Board of directors [edit] Role Name Owners Monaco Sport Investment Ltd (66.67%) House of Grimaldi (33.33%) President Dmitry Rybolovlev Vice presidents Juan Sartori Ekaterina Rybolovleva CEO Thiago Scuro Deputy CEO Olga Dementeva President of the Association Michel Aubery Technical Director Carlos Aviña Performance Director Yann Le Meur Director of youth development Pascal De Maesschalk Academy Director Sébastien Muet Head of Athletic development Bruno Marrier Medical Coordinator Hervé Grolleau Sports Scientist Peio Komino Performance Psychologist Makis Chamalidis Scouting Coordinator Kamel Chniba Head of Technology and Sports Knowledge Vignesh Jayanth Recruitment analyst Maxime Verlinde Marketing and Revenue Director Thibaut Chatelard Organization, safety and security Antoine Vion Head of communications Julien Crevelier Last updated: 22 May 2024 Source:[43]

Current technical staff [edit] Role Name Head coach Adi Hütter Assistant coaches Christian Peintinger Klaus Schmidt Damien Perrinelle Goalkeeping coach Frederic De Boever Fitness coaches Sandy Guichard Steeven Mandin Chief analyst Antony Santiago Video analysts Antoine Taiana Pierre Amitrano Club Doctor Alexandre Creuze Medical assistant Anna Reumont Rehab coach Jérôme Palestri Osteopath Éric Deroover Physiotherapists Joffrey Plasse Jerko Mikulić Sophia Nigi Fabio Martins Florent Danieli Podiatrist Émilie Behnam Nutritionist Raphaël Tourraton Psychologist Émilie Thienot Storemen David Dejoie Achmed Achouch Paul Dupont Last updated: 22 May 2024 Source:[44]

Name	Period
1948–1951	Étienne Boéri
1952–1953	Roger-Félix Médecin
1954	Joseph Fissore
1955	Charles Campora
1956–1957	Roger-Félix Médecin
1958–1959	Charles Campora
1960–1963	Antoine Romagnan
1964–1968	Max Principale
1969	Edmond Aubert
1970–1972	Henry Rey
1973–1974	Henri Orengo
1975	Henri Corvetto
1976–2003	Jean-Louis Campora
2003–2004	Pierre Svara
2004–2008	Michel Pastor
2008–2009	Jérôme de Bontin
2009–2011	Étienne Franzi
2011–	Dmitry Rybolovlev

Name	Period
1948–1950	Jean Batmale
1950–1952	Elek Schwartz
1952–1953	Angelo Grizzetti
1953–1956	Ludvík Dupal
1956–1957	Anton Marek
1958	Louis Pirroni
1958–1963	Lucien Leduc
1963–1965	Roger Courtois
1965–1966	Louis Pirroni
1966–1969	Pierre Sinibaldi
1969–1970	Louis Pirroni / Robert Domergue
1970–1972	Jean Luciano
1972–1974	Ruben Bravo
1974–1975	Alberto Muro
1976–1977	Armand Forchério
1977–1979	Lucien Leduc
1979–1983	Gérard Banide
1983–1986	Lucien Muller
1986–1987	Ștefan Kovács
1987–1994	Arsène Wenger
1994	Jean Petit
1994–1995	Jean-Luc Ettori
1995	Gérard Banide
1995–1999	Jean Tigana
1999–2001	Claude Puel
2001–2005	Didier Deschamps
2005	Jean Petit
2005–2006	Francesco Guidolin
2006	László Bölöni
2006–2007	Laurent Banide
2007–2009	Ricardo Gomes
2009–2011	Guy Lacombe
2011	Laurent Banide
2011–2012	Marco Simone
2012–2014	Claudio Ranieri
2014–2018	Leonardo Jardim
2018–2019	Thierry Henry
2019	Leonardo Jardim
2019–2020	Robert Moreno
2020–2022	Niko Kovač
2022	Stéphane Nado (caretaker)
2022–2023	Philippe Clement
2023–	Adi Hütter

• Ligue 1
  • Winners (8): 1960–61, 1962–63, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1987–88, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2016–17
  • Runners-up (8): 1963–64, 1983–84, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2002–03, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2023–24
• Ligue 2
  • Winners: 2012–13
  • Runners-up (3): 1952–53, 1970–71, 1976–77
• Championnat de France Amateur
  • Winners (3): 1963–64, 1970–71, 2007–08
• Coupe de France
  • Winners (5): 1959–60, 1962–63, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1990–91
  • Runners-up (5): 1973–74, 1983–84, 1988–89, 2009–10, 2020–21
• Coupe de la Ligue
  • Winners: 2002–03
  • Runners-up (3): 2000–01, 2016–17, 2017–18
• Trophée des Champions
  • Winners (4): 1961, 1985, 1997, 2000
  • Runners-up (3): 1960, 2017, 2018
• Coupe Charles Drago
  • Winners: 1961

• European Cup Winners' Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1991–92
• UEFA Champions League
  • Runners-up (1): 2003–04

• Joan Gamper Cup
  • Winners (1): 2024
• Mohammed V Cup
  • Winners (1): 1988

As of 12 July 2024^[45]

Rank	Team	Points
63	Galatasaray	25.500
64	LASK	25.000
65	Monaco	24.000
66	Midtjylland	23.500
67	Union Berlin	23.000

Bold indicates players who play still at the club.

As of 19 May 2024

Competitive, professional matches only.

#	Name	Years	Matches
1	Jean-Luc Ettori	1975–1994	755
2	Claude Puel	1979–1996	602
3	Jean Petit	1969–1982	428
4	Manuel Amoros	1980–1989	349
5	Christian Dalger	1971–1980	334
6	Marcel Dib	1985–1993	326
7	François Ludo	1953–1962	319
8	Luc Sonor	1986–1995	315
9	Michel Hidalgo	1957–1966	304
10	Armand Forchério	1961–1972	303

Competitive, professional matches only.

#	Name	Years	Goals
1	Delio Onnis	1973–1980	223
2	Wissam Ben Yedder	2019–	118
3	Lucien Cossou	1959–1965	115
4	Christian Dalger	1971–1980	89
5	Radamel Falcao	2013–2019	83
6	Jean Petit	1969–1982	78
7	Victor Ikpeba	1993–1999	77
8	Yvon Douis	1961–1967	74
9	Youri Djorkaeff	1990–1995	68
10	Sonny Anderson	1994–1997	67
	Shabani Nonda	2000–2005

Wikimedia Commons has media related to AS Monaco.

• Official website
• AS Monaco FC at Ligue 1
• AS Monaco FC at UEFA