They averaged less than 6000 fans at home games last season.
They have only just been promoted back to the top league in France. They have
never won the Champions League. They haven’t qualified for that competition for
nearly decade. They don’t pay their taxes!
So much incredulity, anger and astonishment have surrounded AS
Monaco over the past few weeks. This tiny club are putting more noses out of
joint than Carl Froch’s jab. We’ve all seen the bleating, moaning and outrage
surrounding Radamel Falcao’s decision to snub the Premier League and head to
the sun drenched principality instead. What a waste of a promising career. What
a money grabbing unambitious man he has proven himself to be. And what about
young James Rodriguez? Every team in England wanted that skilful youngster and
he’s thrown it all away for a bigger pay day. There are few things more amusing
than a chronic lack of self awareness and the reaction to the rise of AS Monaco
has had me in stitches recently.
On Twitter we’ve had Chelsea fans bemoaning the mercenary
ways of Falcao. We’ve seen Spurs fans crying relative poverty as Joao Moutinho
snubs his long anticipated move to London. Man City fans who excel at Football
Manager have long wanted James Rodriguez, who the hell are Monaco to steal him
away from them?
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| James and Moutinho: Monaco's £60m additions |
Well, they are the new Manchester City. The new Chelsea. In
time they may even dwarf such clubs. After all, what footballer would rather take
sodden trips to the Trafford Centre or Westfield than park up at the Monte
Carlo harbour with additional millions in his bank account and stroll through
the picturesque principality bathed in sunshine? Even from a professional standpoint,
what is going to stop Monaco from becoming a super power of European football
over the coming years? In ‘the beautiful game’ when millions are spent,
trophies inevitably follow. We’ve seen these billionaire backed successes
before. Hell, we invented them.
Despite the poor attendances and relative lack of standing
in the game, AS Monaco are just the latest nouveau riche club to join footballs
elite. Top players are already packing their bags and flying into Nice airport
for the promise of untold riches and success galore. It may take a year or two
for success to follow but make no mistake, it will happen. This unheralded,
tiny little club will follow in the footsteps of every other billionaire’s
football plaything and feast on the carcases of those clubs who can no longer
dine at the high rollers table.
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| Falcao is set to become Monaco's next big signing |
French football, providing Monaco get through their court
case with the Ligue
Professionnel de Football (LFP) regarding their tax issues (they
don’t seem too worried about that), will become more enticing to fans the world
over. PSG and Monaco will be like Barca and Real in Spain, like Chelsea, City
and United over here: Footballing behemoths with the means and ambition to
attract the best players in the world and reap the rewards.
The snobbery of supporters in England towards Monaco is mind
boggling. If any country should be well versed in seeing just how quickly a
billionaire owner can propel a club to the top of the game then it is this one.
Perhaps our collective memories are short. Do people even remember Chelsea pre
Abromovich or City before Sheik Mansour rocked up? There were not Juan Matas or
Sergio Agueros back in those days. Champions League finals and Premiership
trophies weren’t about either.
As synthetic as Monaco’s rise undoubtedly will be, no one in
England should look down their noses at that club nor berate players for moving
to the South of France for a pay day. They are merely following the blue print
of how to obtain immediate success, money and power in football which was drawn
up on these shores long ago.
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