Football
Mark Rodden 9y

Vasilyev: Monaco project can still be a success without heavy spending

Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has conceded that his club can no longer spend their way to the top in the way that Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have done.

After investing heavily on their return to the French top flight last season, Monaco sold James Rodriguez to Real Madrid for 80 million euros and allowed star striker Radamel Falcao to join Manchester United on loan.

They have since struggled under new coach Leonardo Jardim, losing four of their eight league matches, although they did beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in their opening Champions League fixture.

Ahead of their second Group C match, away to Zenit St Petersburg, Vasilyev, 49, said he could see why critics had rounded on the club in recent weeks.

"I understand them because we finished second in the league last season," he told Le Parisien. "We created hope.

"People sometimes have an emotional reaction but if you analyse the squad, our team has huge quality.

"It's not the end. I believe in this project but there are difficult moments. We'll get through it."

Monaco's financing has come under scrutiny from UEFA but Vasilyev believes that the Russian-owned club will not run into trouble with European football's governing body.

"You have to follow the rules," he told Le Parisien. "I manage the club so that it complies with financial fair play.

"But it's true that it's a lot easier for clubs with big budgets that have already invested a lot of money.

"To make a comparison, it would be practically impossible to put together a project like Chelsea nowadays. It's the same with the examples of Manchester City and PSG more recently."

Vasilyev believes that Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid are better examples to follow. But Monaco, who had an average league attendance of just under 9,000 last season, present a different challenge.

"Our project is very special because Monaco is a distinctive case with, in particular, a low catchment area," Vasilyev added.

"But we have very strong potential internationally thanks to our name and thanks to the principality.

"Monaco have already brought a lot to French football. Now we have to restructure our project. It will take time but we're here for a long time."

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