Monaco (AFP)
The advent of coach Robert Moreno in January, accompanied by an investment in transfers of 60 million euros, did not prevent Monaco from missing its season. Without necessary reorientations, the consequences of this second consecutive year without European qualification could be disastrous.
Third Ligue 1 bugdet but only ninth in the classification at the time of the final cessation of the season, which took place at the end of April, the Monegasque club is at a crossroads.
Despite the impossibility of working from his office at the Stade Louis-II, and the partial unemployment imposed on the club, Oleg Petrov, successor to Vadim Vasilyev at the head of the ASM, can no longer count his hours to recover from a season nightmarish.
Between assumed but unsuccessful decisions - ouster of Leonardo Jardim, internal restructuring -, ubiquitous sports setbacks under Moreno - defeat in Nice at the last minute (2-1, 28th and last day), poor draw against Reims (1-1, 27th day) or calamitous defeats against Strasbourg and Nîmes (3-1) -, and sudden stop of the championship, Petrov can rail. Monaco had everything to be European. It will not be.
The Russian must rebuild a competitive team, reduce the payroll and lower the number of players under contract. A titanic mission for a lonely man since the departure of Nicolas Holveck in Rennes.
Viacheslav Ivanov, deputy director, and Igor Korneïev, sports adviser, have little recourse concerning the L1. And Monaco still has no sports director specializing in the championship.
- A sports director and 30 starts? -
Petrov knows this. The profiles of John Williams (Amiens) and especially Olivier Pickeu (ex-Angers) interest him. He waits before deciding.
Time is passing. Concerns are piling up. Petrov multiplies and manages the least internal subject at the club.
Thus, by negotiating too brutally a drop in wages with his players for April, he got rid of the majority of the locker room. Not fundamentally opposed to this collective effort, the players turned against an uncoordinated situation.
The workforce also knows that radical changes are brewing in the coming weeks.
Despite the departures of players at the end of the contract (including Subasic) and on loan (Bakayoko, Slimani, Adrien Silva), some of whom have already left the Principality, more than 60 professionals (including 22 loan returns) are affected by the planned takeover after June 15 and a few vacations.
It is twice too much to build a team without Europe. Despite a complicated announced transfer window, Petrov therefore intends to offload around thirty players. In the form of a loan or transfer. Sacred challenge!
To make matters worse, the workforce, even plethoric, is unbalanced. Monaco must recruit a defensive midfielder or even a striker. Especially if the staff considers that the Jovetic-Pellegri-Geubbels triplet does not have the guarantees to last without injury. Leicester wants to let go of Islam Slimani, who earns 4.5 million euros a year. Monaco is waiting.
- Ben Yedder not for sale but ... -
Among the loan returns, only the Nigerian striker Onyekuru (Galatasaray), the young Polish goalkeeper Majecki (Legia Warsaw), and the young defenders Pavlovic (Partizan Belgrade), Biancone and Panzo (Cercle Brugge) should join the squad.
The others must find a way out. Some, such as N'Doram (Lens, Metz) or Grandsir (Brest, England, Spain), have received offers. But for the majority, big salaries (including the world champion Sidibé, Barreca, Chadli, Pelé, Aït Bennasser or Ahoulou), it will be complicated.
Even more complex, the club intends to separate from Glik, Jemerson and Jorge, former declining executives. None will make a gift. Finally, there remains the thorny Fabregas case, which has two years of contract at 7.2 million euros per year.
Of these numerous but hypothetical departures, Monaco is counting on 50 million revenues. Otherwise, the financially drained club will be forced to sell a key player. Badiashile, Ballo-Touré, Henrich, Fofana and especially Wissam Ben Yedder are solicited. At a high price, no one should be retained, even if the departure of the French international striker, co-best scorer of L1, does not seem topical.
Because even if he no longer feeds the accounts, the Russian billionaire owner Dmitri Rybolovlev has one requirement: the podium in 2021. And the pressure is on Oleg Petrov.
© 2020 AFP