Monaco (AFP)

After a season in hell at the sporting level and behind the scenes, the construction site remains gigantic in Monaco, despite the big effort launched in January by the billionaire president Dmitri Rybolovlev. So much so that the objective of podium seems quite ambitious.

The nightmare 17th place of last season and revelations related to "Football Leaks" will leave traces on the side of the club Rock.

Also, Monaco would like to settle as soon as possible this recent past. To restore its image and regain a form of credibility. Notably after investing, without result, 128 million euros in transfers last summer.

Oleg Petrov, number two of the club and new strong man, thus posted the presidential ambitions: the podium.

But the ASM goes far. The successor of Vadim Vasilyev is already under pressure. In parallel with his sporting mission, he intends to optimize the workforce and reduce a lifestyle too expensive.

At the end of last season, Monaco had 74 professional contracts, 55 are planned this season. The weight loss treatment has already begun but Petrov is aiming for a dozen more starts, including Aït Bennasser, Pele, Cardona or Diop, out of the 65 players still under contract (including 10 loaned).

- Jardim wants four players -

For this, he relies on his assistant DGs, Nicolas Holveck and newcomer Viacheslav Ivanov. However, the sports director Michael Emenalo, he struggles to convince: despite his English connections, he found no point of fall to anyone, especially not to Sidibé, whose departure would not displease and to whom the Premier League would offer a beautiful exit door.

Petrov's smartphone is connected 24 hours a day. Intermediaries and club leaders are testing the new ASM new admiral looking to strengthen his team. For the other strong man, Leonardo Jardim, warned: "The goal depends on the strength" and the ability to "build a better than our opponents".

That of Monaco has changed little. Only goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte solidifies a terrible football training last season. Jardim is still waiting for four high-level players: a central defender, a defensive midfielder, a winger and an attacker to support Falcao in a 4-4-2.

After the failures of the negotiations for the Lilleois Soumaoro, the Portuguese André Silva (Milan) and Danilo Pereira (Porto), Monaco stagnates.

Admittedly, the results of the last friendlies confirm a consolidation (0-0 in Braga, 1-0 in Porto). Yet the fans are worried. Sportingly, Monaco is not yet in optimal order. And this is not the only sector to pitch.

- 204.000 euros the lodge -

The medical cell was turned upside down. At the club since 2005, Philippe Kuentz has left his position, weakened by the cascading injuries of last season. He who had set up Falcao, after his troubles at Manchester United and Chelsea, passed the hand to Alexandre Creuzé.

In the commercial, marketing and communication departments, the situation has also evolved: the departure, in the wake of Vasilyev, of Bruno Skropeta, who oversaw marketing and communication, has given rise to struggles for influence.

The marketing department seems to have taken control of the club's communication, as it did on July 3, when it announced the partnership with Kappa, the new equipment supplier for the next six seasons, organized at the club's boutique and broadcast live on social networks.

On the commercial side too, successes are slowly emerging. Despite new lodges at the Stade Louis-II, their rates, from 84,000 to 204,000 euros the season, remain very high in the absence of Champions League and some "historic tenants" would delay renewing their contract.

The colossal work of the training centers at La Turbie and the "Academy" at Cap d'Ail aside, the Monegasque shipyards remain legion for Oleg Petrov who, once the transfer window is completed, will begin his "operation seduction" with French football leaders.

© 2019 AFP