Monaco Are Set to Sign Falcao & Valdes, but Will All Their Spending Pay Off?

On Monday Spanish outlet Marca reported Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao and Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes had each travelled to Monaco to complete transfers to the recently-promoted Ligue 1 side.

Falcao, whose 28 La Liga goals were second only to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo this past season, is expected to fetch €60 million while Valdes, who is out of contract a year from now, could join the Principality side for €10 million.

Deals for both players could be in place later this week, and if signed they will join former Porto duo James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho at Stade Louis II after the pair were acquired for a combined €70 million last Friday.

That’s €140 million spent on player transfers in a matter days, and if club owner and potash magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev can coax some other big names to the French Riviera, it’s a number that could approach €200 million by the end of the summer.

In a radio interview with RCN on Friday, Monaco assistant manager Jean Petit admitted his employers were only getting started, saying, “We are expecting Falcao and four or five other players of his quality.” (Sky)

He added: “Monaco need a player like Falcao because he can help us a lot and because he can attract other top players, and that’s the best way of confirming our project is big and interesting.”

Big and interesting, indeed. In less than a week Monaco have completely altered the landscape of French football, spending at a rate that would leave current champions Paris Saint-Germain red-faced and the top flight’s 18 other outfits completely in the dust.

Yes, Ligue 1 continues to draw increasing television and sponsorship revenues, and the high-profile players both Monaco and PSG can provide will only serve to enhance that income base. But both are also spending at a rate that far exceeds growth, and the long-term implications of their investments remain uncertain.

Neither, however, is much concerned with what their activities in the transfer market will mean for both themselves and their opponents down the road. They want to win, and win immediately, and if anything, recent history suggests they almost certainly will.

PSG, of course, already have—securing the title with two matches to spare earlier this month. Their spending sprees of 2011 and 2012 put an end to a 19-year title drought, and with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Thiago Silva starring at the club, they can consider themselves Champions League contenders ahead of next season as well.

Monaco have at least a year to wait before booking a European spot, and when they do they’ll almost certainly have to explain their future plans to UEFA in order to avoid serious Financial Fair Play sanctions.

But they’ll worry about that when the time comes. For now, it’s all about establishing themselves as a Ligue 1 force and perhaps winning a first domestic championship since 2000. And while it may not come next spring, it will almost certainly come, as Chelsea and Manchester City, in addition to PSG, can attest.

Both Premier League sides were the subject of massive investment at one point or another in the last 10 years. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich got out his chequebook after buying Chelsea in 2003 and hasn’t stopped signing his name since, and after taking control of City in 2008 Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has gone on to outspend even the Blues.

League championships for both and a pair of European trophies for Chelsea would seem to suggest the investment has paid off—a fact PSG could hardly be expected to dispute.

Monaco, then, are merely the newest members of Europe’s priciest club. And if they have their way, they’ll help in developing a new mantra—that money can, indeed, buy success.