AS Monaco

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Despite not being a French club, Monaco are one of the most successful clubs in French football, having won eight league titles, five Coupe de France trophies and one Coupe de la Ligue. The club has also played in European football a number of times, and were runners-up in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1992 and the UEFA Champions League in 2004. The club's traditional colours are red and white, and the club is known as Les Rouge et Blanc (lit. 'The Red and Whites'). Monaco is a member of the European Club Association. Since December 2011, the club has been majority-owned by the Russian oligarch and billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.

In Their Own Story

The club's European journey saw them reach the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final in 1992 and the Champions League final in 2004. Arsène Wenger managed from 1986 to 1994, winning the league in his first season (1988) and the Coupe de France in 1991 while signing stars like George Weah and Thierry Henry. After financial troubles led to a 2003 relegation threat due to €50 million debt, manager Didier Deschamps guided the team to third place and the 2004 Champions League final. Despite on-field glory, the 2003–04 season was their worst financially. In December 2011, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev became the majority owner. The club remains unique as a non-French entity in the French system, benefiting from lower social security contributions for players and no income tax for non-French players.

Reader's Guide

AS Monaco FC was founded on 1 August 1920 through the unification of numerous local clubs based in France and the principality. On 23 August 1924, the multiple sports club of the Association Sportive de Monaco was founded. Monaco was then absorbed by the latter and became the football section of the enlarged Monegasque sporting club. Monaco played its matches on a football pitch located in the Fontvieille ward, on the site of the former Stade Louis II. Sometimes also played its home games in Roquebrune-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 the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, rising rapidly between the leagues in the 1920s. In 1929, they moved to newly built Stade des Moneghetti, located in the French commune of Beausoleil and next to the border of the Les Moneghetti ward. It became the team's first stadium and remained there until 1939. 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. In 1939, the club moved to the Stade Louis II. 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.

Did You Know?

• Monaco is unique among European expatriated clubs in that it represents a nation not a member of international organizations like UEFA or FIFA.
• In 2015, the French Council of State ruled in favour of Monaco, allowing the club to keep its registered office in the principality despite a 2013 LFP rule requiring clubs to have their registered office in France.
• Monaco's lower social security contributions and income tax exemption for non-French players give it an advantage in signing world-class players.