While you were sleeping, and possibly reading all about Chelsea FC winning the premier league, something spectacular happened: AS Monaco won Ligue Un.....
It took me a few days to realize really what happened but I finally have come to terms with what AS Monaco has accomplished.
From team that was in the second division 4 years ago with Claudio Ranieri, to a team in the Semi Final of the Champions League and winning their domestic league in the same season, AS Monaco has flown under the radar as one of the most incredible stories of the season.
Obviously wondered Mbappe has stolen the show and will inevitably be sold for an absurd amount of money, but AS Monaco has had such an interesting season that reminds me of Real Madrid's underrated and overrated dichotomy. Yes there is the 18 year old wonderkid that is Mbappe as well as a few other future premier league stars, but as I was told by Onefootball's Daniel Issroff, the rollercoaster that is AS Monaco goes deeper than just a miracle run with youth.
As isolated as I am in the mountains of Bavaria, I still hear murmurs about whats going on in the French League. I knew the title was close and that PSG was not in front but it was all sort of blinded by the bright lights of the Champions League matches between PSG and Barcelona where Barcelona overturned a 4-0 1st leg deficit only to be embarrassed by Juventus. All of the drama in the Champions League took away from the fact that PSG were in fact trailing leaders Monaco in their domestic league. By the way PSG dismantled Barcelona, you would have thought that they would have won the league by February per usual, but that simply was not the case.
PSG does in fact have one of the highest wage bills in the world, but because of Monaco's tax policy, the gap isn't as great as you think. AS Monaco does not have to deal with the 70% tax that PSG does, but also, contrary to popular belief, aside from a few star youngsters, AS Monaco was built around maturity and stability. Truth be told they will make north of 100 million euros in transfers this year on maybe 2 players, but since they were recently bought out by a Russian Oligarch, development has been pushed.
I have always wondered personally why AS Monaco hasn't been a powerhouse from the start because of the no tax thing, Monaco's location and again, the no tax thing, but I guess football is more than just wages and location......I guess.