Monaco’s training ground, carved into a hillside above the principality, overlooks the Côte d’Azur. It is the sort of glamorous setting expected for a football team in one of the world’s richest corners. Fifteen nationalities file out of the changing rooms and on to the pitch to be coached by an Austrian, driving home the club’s eclectic nature.
They are the senior partner in a multi‑club operation that involves one other team: Cercle Brugge, who were bought in 2017. Whereas others stockpile clubs, two is the height of the ambition here, the thinking being that it provides agility but ensures focus is not diverted. Clubs live and die by recruitment and investing in another team allows more access to talent and increased scope to develop it.
