An ambitious club led by a Russian billionaire… no, it’s not Chelsea, but rather AS Monaco, the team that has announced that it is ready to become one of the best in Europe.
The recently crowned Ligue 2 champion is now aiming for the stars after being backed by Dmitry Rybolovlev’s billions. Having already snared FC Porto pair James Rodriguez and Joao Mountinho, along with Real Madrid’s Ricardo Carvalho, it seems that they are ready to spend big.
And now they have claimed one of the hottest properties in world football, Radamel Falcao from Athletico Madrid. Falcao will now be able to play alongside former teammate James Rodriguez, who played for FC Porto during 2009-11, winning the UEFA Europa League at the time.
AS Monaco, though a relatively small club, has not been a stranger to success having been crowned Ligue 1 champions seven times and claiming the Coupe de France on five occasions.
They also came very close to winning the UEFA Champions League in 2004, losing 3-0 in the final to F.C Porto, the same team that all four of their big signings have played for. However, Carvalho was the only man that played for the Portuguese team during that year.
So AS Monaco is basically a team stealing players from the team that they lost the final against? Not quite, as for that they would have to bring in the great coach of modern times, Jose Mourinho.
But seeing as though they already have Claudio Ranieri, they might as well keep some cards in deck and not shuffle the deck completely. But in saying that, why wouldn’t you splash the cash when you can?
The club surely isn’t done with in the off-season spending department just yet, so let’s wait and see if any other superstars join the principality club to bolster its squad ahead of its comeback in Ligue 1.
AS Monaco… you’ll be hearing that name a lot in the coming years. Let’s see how far the money can take them.
Will it be able to topple Paris Saint-Germain in its first season back in the top flight? Or will it settle with a UEFA Champions League spot? Europa League?
Or will it flop completely and become a laughing stock in world football? We will find out in the upcoming season.
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