It is always hard to go against the trend: it takes courage
and a vision but it’s sometimes the smart thing to do.
As Europe’s clubs pour billions of euros into transfer
dealings in this record summer window, there is one man who has been making
some striking deals and taking a very different approach.
AS Monaco’s President Dmitry Rybolovlev has done some very
clever business in this year’s market: he sold World Cup star James Rodrigues
to Real Madrid for 90 million euros – a 100% return on the 45 million Monaco
paid in 2013 when the player was far less well known.
He has also just negotiated a 10 million euros deal to loan
Radamel Falcao to Manchester United for the season, as well, of course, as
getting the English club to cover Falcao’s salary. Not bad for a player that
has had his share of injury woes. What’s more, that will rise to a further 55
million euros should United take the option to buy the player.
Rybolovlev has a strategy to build Monaco into one of
Europe’s great clubs but not by splashing the cash indiscriminately. He wants
to do so on a sustainable financial basis. His is a long-term vision based on
building the international Monaco brand; developing the youth resources where
the club has a rich tradition; and mobilising the passion for the game within
the Principality.
Of course, this approach should not be a surprise from an
international businessman who has a track record of investing successfully in
every venture he gets involved with.
His family’s investments in marque real estate in Manhattan,
Palm Beach and Monaco have been a trend-setting catalyst for rapid and real
value increases across those property markets; whilst his eye for successful
investment in fine art has also been well documented.
And of course, the success story of the potash producer
Uralkali , which first made Rybolovlev’s name on the world stage, is the stuff
of legend. Fusing together the disparate parts of the Soviet era fertilizer
enterprise, he created a global giant which listed on the London Stock Exchange
in one of that bourse’s most successful ever IPOs, creating billions of dollars
of value for investors along the way.
So, amidst the flurry of transfer deals in today’s football
landscape – beware the contrarian! He may just know something the others don’t.
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