After major speculation over the last few days, Thierry Henry is the new boss of struggling Ligue One outfit Monaco. The former French international started his playing career in the principality. Henry a big challenge in his managerial debut with the Red and Whites.
Monaco sells their best players
The Monaco business model is simple. They sign promising young players, develop them and then sell on at a profit. Former boss Leonardo Jardim is regarded as a top coach, so he may have played a big part in this philosophy.
Without a top coach, the players do not develop and fulfil their potential. Under Jardim, a host of players thrived and went on to make Monaco a huge profit. The list of players sold by the club is like a who’s who of European football.
Monaco have sold Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar, Joao Moutinho, Bernard Silva, Benjamin Mendy, Fabinho and Tiemoue Bakayoko in the last few seasons. Most the players have joined clubs for massive transfer fees. The team from the 2016/17 title-winning side has almost been gutted in the name of a profit.
Model is not sustainable
Monaco have managed to get away with selling their top players for a while now, and still sustain a position near the top of Ligue One. However, their sort of business model is a dangerous one, as eventually, it will come back to haunt a club.
Any club cannot get away with selling their best players year in and year out and still expect success. Jardim did a very good job, but eventually the fact that so many top players were sold caught up to the highly rated Portuguese coach.
Henry faces a major test
Thierry Henry faces a major test of his coaching mettle in his very first job as a boss. Despite selling their best players constantly, the Monaco owners will still expect to compete near the top end of the Ligue One table.
After the team’s poor start to their campaign in the French top-flight, they are unlikely to challenge big-spending PSG for the title this season. However, they will still be expected to finish high in the Ligue One table.
Thierry Henry is a confident character, who will be extremely sure that he can revive Monaco’s season. However, it is a brave decision to take Monaco as his first job as a head coach.
Henry has been an assistant coach to Belgium boss Roberto Martinez for the past few years, but being a boss in his own right is a completely different thing altogether.
The Arsenal legend comes across as a person who likes a challenge. It is a good job really, as he is going to need every ounce of his experience in the game to be successful at the struggling Ligue One outfit.
Will Thierry Henry be successful with Monaco?
