Early history

AS Monaco FC was founded on 1 August 1919 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.^[10] AS Monaco FC was then absorbed by the latter and became the football section of the enlarged Monegasque sporting club.^[11]

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.

1960–1986: Domestic successes

Lucien Leduc guided Monaco to three league titles and two domestic cups

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.^[12][13] 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.^[14]

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).^[15]

1990s: Wenger and Tigana

Arsène Wenger led Monaco to the 1987–88 league title.

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.^[16] 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.^[16][not mentioned by source] 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.^[16][17]

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.^[18] 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.^[19]

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.^[18]

Relegation and takeover

Russian oligarch and billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev bought the club in 2011 and has made it one of the biggest spenders in the football world.

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.^[20]

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.^[21] 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.^[9] 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.^[22] 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.^[23] This, combined with the sales of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Layvin Kurzawa, Yannick Carrasco, Aymen Abdennour, Lucas Ocampos and other, saw the Monegasque club earn over €180m in the transfer window.

Ligue 1 triumph and aftermath (2016–present)

Leonardo Jardim led Monaco to the Ligue 1 title in 2016–17

The iconic nine arches of the Stade Louis II.

Monaco won the Ligue 1 title on 17 May 2017, defeating AS Saint-Étienne 2–0.^[24] 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^[25] 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 obligation to buy for a fee of €180m,^[26] 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.^[27] Henry was suspended from his job in January,^[28] and Jardim returned days later.^[29] Monaco finished the season in 17th, avoiding relegation playoffs by 2 points.^[30] In December 2019 Jardim was fired for the second time in 14 months,^[31] and former Spain manager Robert Moreno was appointed in his place.^[32]

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,^[33] being replaced by Philippe Clement.^[34]

Current squad

As of 5 January 2024^[37]

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POL Radosław Majecki 2 DF  BRA Vanderson 3 DF  CHI Guillermo Maripán 4 MF  MLI Mohamed Camara 5 DF  GER Thilo Kehrer (on loan from West Ham United) 6 MF  SUI Denis Zakaria 7 MF  FRA Eliesse Ben Seghir 8 MF  BEL Eliot Matazo 9 FW  NED Myron Boadu 10 FW  FRA Wissam Ben Yedder (captain) 12 DF  BRA Caio Henrique 14 DF  SEN Ismail Jakobs 16 GK  SUI Philipp Köhn 17 MF  RUS Aleksandr Golovin (3rd captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  JPN Takumi Minamino 19 MF  FRA Youssouf Fofana (vice-captain) 20 DF  FRA Kassoum Ouattara 21 MF  FRA Maghnes Akliouche 22 DF  GHA Mohammed Salisu 27 FW  SEN Krépin Diatta 29 FW  USA Folarin Balogun 34 DF  FRA Chrislain Matsima 36 FW  SUI Breel Embolo 37 MF  FRA Edan Diop 50 GK  FRA Yann Liénard 88 MF  FRA Soungoutou Magassa 99 DF  CIV Wilfried Singo

Out on loan

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  FRA Jordan Semedo (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2024) — MF  FRA Félix Lemaréchal (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  POR Tiago Ribeiro (at Paços de Ferreira until 30 June 2024) — MF  FRA Romaric Etonde (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2024)

Reserves

As of 31 January 2023^[38]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 41 DF  FRA Antonin Cartillier 42 MF  FRA Mamadou Coulibaly 43 DF  FRA Ritchy Valme 44 FW  FRA Malamine Efekele — GK  FRA Alain Zadi — DF  ALG Nazim Babaï — DF  FRA Enzo Couto — DF  FRA Foued El Maach — DF  FRA Aurélien Platret

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  FRA Mohamed Bamba — MF  FRA Florian Baranik — MF  FRA Saïmon Bouabré — FW  FRA Enzo Baglieri — FW  FRA Jonathan Bakali — FW  FRA Valentin Decarpentrie — FW  FRA Diédry Kouassi — FW  FRA Béchir Yacoub

Presidential history

List of presidents
1952–1953	Roger-Félix Médecin
1954	Joseph Fissore
1955–1956	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

Coaching history

List of coaches
1948–1950	Jean Batmale
1950–1952	Elek Schwartz
1952–1953	Angelo Grizzetti
1953–1956	Ludwic Dupal
1956–1957	Anton Marek
1957–1958	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 Forcherio
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

Domestic competitions

• Ligue 1
  • Winners (8): 1960–61, 1962–63, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1987–88, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2016–17
  • Runners-up (7): 1963–64, 1983–84, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2002–03, 2013–14, 2017–18
• 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

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

UEFA club coefficient ranking

As of 25 May 2022^[41]

Rank	Team	Points
59	KAA Gent	27.500
60	FC Krasnodar	26.500
61	Monaco	26.000
62	Real Sociedad	26.000
63	PAOK FC	25.000