Unlike several other Europeanmicrostates, Monaco has never organized a domestic league and has never sought separate membership in eitherUEFA orFIFA. Therefore, AS Monaco became a full member of theFrench league system, enabling it to represent France in European club competitions. There are several otherexpatriated football clubs in operation around Europe (such asFC Vaduz ofLiechtenstein), but AS Monaco is unique in that it represents a nation not a member of international organizations.
In 2013, theFrench Football Professional League (LFP) amended its rules to include the obligation for a club competing in French professional leagues to have its registered office in France. In 2015, the FrenchCouncil of State ruled in favour of AS Monaco, allowing the club to keep its registered office in the principality.[11] As a result, football players in Monaco continue to enjoy lower social security contributions (35-40% of an employee’s gross salary compared to the 55-60% of French clubs) and non-French players do not pay income tax in Monaco.[12] This endows AS Monaco with an advantage in terms of signing world-class players.
AS Monaco FC was founded on 1 August 1920 through the unification of numerous local clubs based in France and theprincipality. On 23 August 1924, the multiple sports club of the Association Sportive de Monaco was founded.[13] AS Monaco FC was then absorbed by the latter and became the football section of the enlarged Monegasque sporting club.[14] Monaco played its matches on a football pitch located in theFontvieilleward, on the site of the former Stade Louis II. Sometimes also played its home games inRoquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (which borders on Monaco) or on its opponent's pitch.
The club's early years were spent in the amateur regional divisions of theProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azurregion, rising rapidly between the leagues in the 1920s. In 1929 moved to newly built Stade des Moneghetti, located in theFrench commune ofBeausoleil and next to the border of theLes Moneghetti ward.[15] It became the team's first stadium and remained there until 1939.
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 Frenchfirst division for the first time in1953.
Lucien Leduc guided Monaco to three league titles and two domestic cups
In 1960, Monaco coachLucien Leduc led the club to its first professional trophy, theCoupe de France, beatingSaint-Étienne 4–2 inextra time. This initial success was bettered in the following year with the club winning theFrench Championship for the first time in its history, qualifying for theEuropean 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.[16][17] Leduc subsequently left the club again in 1979, to be succeeded byLucien Muller andGérard 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; theCoupe de France in1980 and1985, theFrench Championship in1982, wasCoupe de France finalist in1984. In the 1985–86 season, Monaco hammeredBordeaux 9–0, one of the biggest wins in club history.[18]
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 toDundee United (1981),CSKA Sofia twice (1982 and 1984) andUniversitatea Craiova (1985).[19]
Arsène Wenger led Monaco to the 1987–88 league title.
In 1986, formerAjax managerȘtefan Kovács, who succeededRinus Michels and honed hisTotal 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 signedArsène Wenger, who had hitherto been relatively unknown, managingNancy without much success. Wenger's reign saw the club enjoy one of its most successful periods, with several inspired signings, includingGeorge Weah,Glenn Hoddle,Jürgen Klinsmann, andYouri Djorkaeff. Youth team policies produced future World Cup winnersEmmanuel Petit,Lilian Thuram andThierry 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.[20] The club could have had even greater success in this period, as it emerged in 1993 that bitter rivalsMarseille had indulged in match-fixing and numerous improprieties, a view that Wenger had long held.[20] In 1994, after being blocked by the Monaco board from opening discussions with German powerhouseBayern 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.[20][21]
After Wenger's departure, the club went on to record two further league championships; underJean Tigana in1997 and underClaude Puel in2000. 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.[22] 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.[23]
The following season saw remarkable success on the field, given the club's financial strife. The team, coached by former France/ national team captainDidier Deschamps and featuring stalwarts such asFernando Morientes,Ludovic Giuly,Jérôme Rothen andDado Pršo, finished third in Ligue 1 and enjoyed a remarkable run to the final of theUEFA Champions League, beatingReal Madrid andChelsea 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.[22]
Russian oligarch and billionaireDmitry Rybolovlev bought the club in 2011 and has made it one of the biggest spenders in the football world.
WithFrancesco 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 coachLaurent Banide who, in turn, only lasted a year, before being replaced by BrazilianRicardo 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 asPark Chu-young andFreddy 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.[24]
In July 2009 Ricardo Gomes was replaced by formerCannes andRennes coachGuy Lacombe, inheriting a youthful squad featuring numerous highly lauded youth team prospects, includingCédric Mongongu,Serge Gakpé,Vincent Muratori,Frédéric Nimani,Nicolas N'Koulou, Park Chu-young,Yohan Mollo andYohann Thuram-Ulien.[25] 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 the2010–11 season in 18th, thus becoming relegated toLigue 2.
In December 2011, 66.67% of the club was sold to theRussian oligarch and billionaireDmitry Rybolovlev (via a trust under his daughterEkaterina's name) while the club were bottom of Ligue 2.[10] Banide was sacked due to this poor start to the2011–12 season, and was replaced by Italian managerMarco 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 compatriotClaudio Ranieri, whose attacking style of football saw the club score 64 goals in the2012–13 season. With the club only losing four times, Monaco finished the season as champions, earning promotion back toLigue 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 forRadamel Falcao fromAtlético Madrid and £40 million forJames Rodríguez fromFC Porto.[26] Monaco finished in 2nd place in Ligue 1 in the2013–14 season and Ranieri was replaced byLeonardo Jardim. The following season, Monaco cut expenses, selling Rodriguez toReal Madrid for €75m and loaning Falcao toManchester United. Despite the high-profile departures, Monaco finished in 3rd place in Ligue 1 and made it to the quarter-finals of theChampions League, defeatingArsenal in the Round of 16 before exiting at the hands ofJuventus. Top-scorer from the 2013–14 season wasAnthony 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.[27] This, combined with the sales ofGeoffrey Kondogbia,Layvin Kurzawa,Yannick Carrasco,Aymen Abdennour,Lucas Ocampos and others, saw the Monegasque club earn over €180m in the transfer window.
Monaco won theLigue 1 title on 17 May 2017, defeatingAS Saint-Étienne 2–0.[28]Radamel Falcao andKylian 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 the2016–17 UEFA Champions League, Monaco staged a comeback in the Round of 16, losing the first leg 5–3 toManchester City[29] before beating the English side 3–1 at home to win on away goals. Monaco then defeatedBorussia Dortmund 6–3 on aggregate before going down 4–1 over two legs toJuventus. In the summer,Kylian Mbappé went to rivalsPSG on loan, with the obligation to buy for a fee of €180m,[30] making it the second-highest transfer fee in history afterNeymar. TeammatesBernardo Silva andBenjamin Mendy were sold to Manchester City for over €100m combined andTiémoué Bakayoko was sold toChelsea for €40 million. Monaco managed to finish 2nd in the2017–18 Ligue 1, 13 points behind league winners PSG. In the summer of 2018,Fabinho was sold toLiverpool for €42 million.
Jardim was replaced as coach byThierry Henry in October 2018 after a poor start to the season.[31] Henry was suspended from his job in January,[32] and Jardim returned days later.[33] Monaco finished the season in 17th, avoiding relegation playoffs by 2 points.[34] In December 2019 Jardim was fired for the second time in 14 months,[35] and former Spain managerRobert Moreno was appointed in his place.[36]
In 2019–20, theCOVID-19 pandemic suspended and then curtailed the football season. Monaco ended the season in 9th. Moreno was sacked in July, and replaced by formerBayern Munich managerNiko 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,[37] being replaced byPhilippe Clement.[38] During Clement's tenure spanning two seasons, the club fell short of securing a spot in the Champions League group stages, instead they found themselves competing in the Europa League, where they participated in the initial knockout rounds. In addition, they were unable to secure European football in his last season with a 6th-placed finish.[39]
On 4 July 2023, Monaco appointedAdi Hütter who signed a two-year deal with the club.[40] In his first season at the helm, he guided the club to a runner-up finish in the2023–24 season, and qualification to the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2018–19.[41] Adi Huetter was replaced bySébastien Pocognoli on 11 October 2025.[42]
Monaco played at the originalStade Louis II since its construction in 1939. In 1985, the stadium was replaced with thecurrent iteration, built on a nearby site consisting of land reclaimed from the Mediterranean, which has become a recurring feature of the stadium's seaside surroundings. The stadium is named after the formerPrince of MonacoLouis II and houses a total of 18,523 supporters.[43][44] The Stade Louis II is noted for its nine iconic arches and has hosted numerous athletic events and European Cup finals. Every August from 1998 to 2012, it hosted each instance of the annualUEFA Super Cup, but from 2013 onward,UEFA decided to rotate the event throughout various stadiums.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
