AS Monaco: Thiago Scuro wants to “take the next step” by drawing inspiration from the “PSG mentality”

At a press conference on Monday, AS Monaco’s general manager, Thiago Scuro, gave a clear-eyed assessment of the past season. Between satisfaction with a second Champions League qualification and frustration with the team’s limitations, he spoke frankly about the club’s ambitions, the summer transfer window and areas for improvement.

AS Monaco’s 2024-2025 season ended with direct qualification for the Champions League, which was a major objective set by the club ahead of the campaign. Scuro, however, was clear and honest in his analysis of how things unfolded, stating: “For me, we have achieved the main objective we mentioned last summer, namely to continue to play in the group stage of the Champions League, which we have achieved after our second qualification in a row. From this point of view, the season has been successful! But it is also the moment for us to take an in-depth look at what happened during the entire season.”

The Brazilian certainly didn’t hide his disappointment in several aspects. “For example, I think that certain mistakes made on the pitch could have been avoided to achieve our objectives more calmly. We could have gone further in the Champions League, in my opinion, and I must admit that the elimination from the Coupe de France was a big disappointment,” he lamented.

This ambivalence characterised the words of Scuro, who, while recognising the progress made, refused to be satisfied with it. “Regarding the way we finished the season, it doesn’t matter that our main goal has already been achieved; we should have done better, and that’s something we must pay attention to. To have the ambition to be regularly at the top of the Ligue 1 table, we must do more,” he said.

A question of mentality

For Scuro, the difficulties encountered by the team were less due to a lack of quality in the squad, but more down to their state of mind, that needs to be perfected. “I don’t think it’s a question of the quality of the squad. For me, clearly, we had a better squad than last season in terms of quality, options and talent. But on the other hand, the squad was younger; we had to deal with rotations, injuries and suspensions,” asserted the Brazilian.

“It’s a question of mentality. We’re trying to build an organisation in which people want to win every game, no matter the deadline. We’ve made progress in this area, but there’s still work to be done, and I highlight this last game in Lens, which showed that we still have a lot of work to do in this area.”

Scuro hopes to see this culture of high standards spread to all levels of the club, with his words on the topic making for interesting reading. “The issue isn’t just about individuals but more about how to instil a winning mindset in our daily work. It’s my responsibility, that of the coaching staff and the entire organisation to instil that. Paris Saint-Germain have been so dominant this season, and that’s, above all, thanks to the mentality of their group. That should be a source of inspiration for us, to always chase victories and success. We can improve on that, that’s for sure,” he insisted.

“It’s a daily process [to achieve this]. I don’t think a speech can change that; it’s a daily job, even if our recruitment can also be a driving force, with players who push others to be better. It’s also a question of daily behaviour. I understand that, at times, the season is difficult. The schedule, the losses, the victories – everything is very intense. But again, when we come here to work, it has to be 100%. No jokes, no slacking off. The players and the coaching staff work actively for two to three hours a day; it’s not that hard. For me, the challenge for the coming season will be how to enable our organisation to reach this level.”

Summer transfer window talk

Regarding the player movements expected this summer, he cut a calm figure when touching on this, as he reiterated the club’s strategic approach towards transfers. “We don’t need to sell before recruiting. In the transfer window there are always two phases, the first at the end of the season, and a second with natural movements that respond to the first phase. We are therefore working on the possibilities that will be offered to us, such as recruiting Eric Dier, whose arrival we have already announced,” commented the 43-year-old.

𝑬𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝑫𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒔 🤳 pic.twitter.com/bHVbC70z9u

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) May 14, 2025

Scuro nevertheless established that some departures are inevitable: “There is no sporting director or coach in the world who wants to let their best players leave. But they are human. They also have expectations in their lives. Part of our club’s business model is also player trading. We expect players to leave, but we are capable of replacing any player because we have sufficient market knowledge and the resources to do so. I have no concerns about that.”

Among the players likely to leave the Rock is the exceptional Maghnes Akliouche, but Scuro knows if he is to depart, the club and Scuro’s demands will need to be met. “Maghnes was one of the best players in our team during the season. He’s a product of La Diagonale, which also makes us very proud. AS Monaco is a club with a strong reputation. If he has to leave, we also have our expectations,” Scuro told the media.

And when asked about the best time for him to leave, Scuro replied: “I think for a player of his level, there aren’t that many clubs capable of signing him. It’s a question of momentum and opportunity. I’ve spoken with him a lot, especially in the last month, and he has to be very smart in his decision. Maghnes is a player who needs the style of play to suit him, and also where the coach and the club really trusts him and plays him. He needs to get the same respect he has here in Monaco to become an international in the French senior team, which I think he will soon achieve. He deserves it.”

Regarding the recruitment and arrival of Mika Biereth in January, Scuro made a special point of underlining the crucial role of President Dmitry Rybolovlev in this transfer. “It was probably one of the best decisions of the season, yes (smiles)! In this regard, it is really important to emphasise the President’s support in this recruitment, because he understood the need to recruit for this position from the winter transfer window, rather than opting for a loan to fill the absence of Folarin Balogun. We clearly thought that Mika was the best solution, but for that we needed the support of the President. And when you see Mika’s personality and state of mind, who seems to have been there for years already, the ease with which he integrated and how he communicates with everyone, it validates our decision,” explained Scuro.

Areas to be strengthened

Without revealing all of his plans, the general director confirmed that the goalkeeping position would be one of the key projects of the summer transfer window. “Clearly, it was one of the problems of the season. We talk about it openly internally. There have been situations where they were very important and decisive. I think in the match against Lyon, Philipp Köhn had an incredible performance, for example. Radosław Majecki was one of the best goalkeepers in Europe in terms of performance. They work hard. They are good people, good players. But they also made mistakes during the season that cannot happen at a club of our level. So yes, goalkeeping is a point of attention we have for the summer. Then, it will be up to them to compete to play,” he reflected.

Thiago Scuro also made official the departure of Moatasem Al-Musrati, whose purchase option will not be exercised. “We already spoke to him as soon as he got injured; we are not going to exercise the purchase option. Moatasem has helped us a lot. He scored probably one of the most important goals of the season, helping us a lot to qualify [for the UCL], giving us back the lead in the match very quickly against Saint-Étienne. In the Champions League too [he was vital], but we are looking for a different profile. I would like to publicly thank him for the person he is, for his professionalism. He has helped us a lot off the pitch as well, with his maturity, his behaviour and his positive influence. It is simply a technical decision on the profile of player we are looking at for this position,” noted the former Red Bull Bragantino CEO.

The future of some players in doubt

Regarding Breel Embolo, who is entering the final year of his contract, the general manager remains open to all options, as he mentioned: “We have both scenarios as possibilities. Perhaps a club will approach Embolo with a very good offer for his future, or we will find a solution to stay here. The decision is not only mine. Whether or not to extend a contract is also a matter of the player and his agent’s wishes. It’s not just the club that decides what to do. We also have our salary and contract policy, which sometimes doesn’t match the players’ expectations. In December, I had the first conversation about Embolo’s potential extension, and today we are still at that point.”

When speaking about Eliesse Ben Seghir, Scuro was more direct, expressing: “In my opinion, Eliesse has all the conditions to become a more consistent player at Monaco. I have no doubt that the best thing for him is to stay at the club. For him, it’s the safest option to take his next step. Maghnes and he are at different stages in terms of consistency, the number of minutes played and opportunities. That’s a fact, not an opinion. We’re working hard to make him understand that. It’s not about letting him leave or staying, but about making him understand mentally that this is the path and that he’ll get there. He’s at home here.”

Objectives for next season

Scuro was decisive in setting the aims for the 2025/2026 campaign. “Finishing in the top three of Ligue 1 remains crucial for us, considering the financial problems we were talking about before, particularly regarding TV rights. Being systematically in the Champions League group stage protects the club from this context,” declared Scuro.

The general manager even shone the spotlight on Lille’s performance this season as a model, observing: ” We want to progress in this competition, because if the most important thing is to qualify, we saw this season that it was possible to reach the top eight and therefore make things easier for ourselves in terms of the calendar, as Lille did. It obviously depends a lot on the opponents you face, but if we’re talking about the last 16 this season, Benfica was a team within our reach. We could have qualified, so that’s why I hope to go further next year in this prestigious competition.”

With just a few weeks to go before pre-season begins, which is scheduled to begin on June 28 for non-international players and July 2 for others, with a training camp in England at St. George’s Park as well as friendly matches, AS Monaco already has clear ambitions and the desire to reach a new level next season.