AS Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro has sounded the alarm on the financial situation in French football. Clubs have been hit by recent TV deals, firstly the collapse of the Mediapro deal, and then the DAZN situation, where the broadcaster cut short their five-year deal after just one season last summer. 

Speaking at a press conference attended by Get French Football News, Scuro said that only one club is immune to the difficulties facing Ligue 1 clubs. “Everyone apart from Paris Saint-Germain is in survival mode. No clubs have the capacity to invest strongly. Monaco lost around €30m in TV [rights revenue] in two years, [whilst] UEFA dropped from 90% [of salary as a percentage of revenue] to 70% at the same time. It is hard,” he said on Wednesday. 

Monaco need to sell 

It leaves the Principality club needing to take action. “We have to sell someone before July, otherwise there could be UEFA sanctions, but not by the DNCG (French football’s financial watchdog). But the priority is also to ensure performance,” said Monaco’s CEO. 

Les Monégasques’ own personal situation is made more precarious by their own current league standing. After the first half of the campaign, they sit ninth in Ligue 1; as things stand, they are on course to miss out on all forms of European football.

“Not having European football for any club in France of our size has a huge impact. Owners [in that situation] will have to make strong decisions in terms of how much they are willing to invest to support those clubs, because they will have to be financed – they will not be self-sustainable. This is the reality, not only for Monaco,” he added.