Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 9y

Monaco vice-president vows to stick to 're-sized' transfer policy

Monaco will not be adding to their squad in January despite qualifying for the Champions League round of 16, the club's vice-president has told RMC.

The principality club finished as Ligue 1 runners-up last season after spending around 130 million euros to sign stars such as Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho.

But they changed tack in the summer, opting to invest in young, emerging talents, and Leonardo Jardim's men beat Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 at home on Tuesday to secure top spot in Group C.

Vadim Vasilyev, billionaire owner Dmitri Rybolovlev's right-hand man, said Monaco's thinking on transfers would not change, adding that the January window was likely to pass without any new business being done.

"The strategy remains the same," he said. "You don't change decisions just because of winning one game. I really believe in this team, in these players. We're not going to change our strategy because we won.

"We still have ambitions. We have to re-size the project. I understand people, the supporters, are disappointed, but it was necessary and it will bear fruit. It's a long-term project."

He said the club had to scale back its spending amid concerns about keeping in line with UEFA's financial fair play regulations and stressed that Rybolovlev remained committed to the club.

"The president still wants to do it -- he is still passionate about it," he said. "He loves football. You need to have a reasonable project in line with your means. So we needed to modify the project."

Vasilyev added that there was no pressure on Jardim to secure Champions League football for next season, explaining: "No one has a guarantee of playing Champions League football every year. It's good, but it's not obligatory."

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