Monaco owner Rybolovlev escapes sanctions, for now

AS Monaco president and Russian oligarch Dimitri Rybolovlev will not have to relinquish his ownership of the French club after his country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Roman Abramovich has generated much of the attention over Russian ownership of European football clubs, leaving Rybolovlev (pictured), who owns AS Monaco and Belgium’s Cercle Brugge, out of the spotlight but French sports daily L’Equipe reports that 55-year-old billionaire will be safe in his position for now.

“That does not mean that sanctions are not possible at a later stage,” said a source close to the Russian. “Depending on the developments of the conflict, the measures taken against the Russian oligarchs could lead to their exclusion from French companies. The Monegasque authorities are closely following the sanctions imposed by the European Union.”

Rybolovlev has had a majority stake in AS Monaco since 2011, but he doesn’t feature on French list of 488 Russian entities and 26 oligarchs facing potential sanctions.

“Going and playing in Monaco is not a problem. Just as we must support the Ukrainians and particularly their football players and coaches, so we can’t be angry with every person of Russian nationality,” said Christophe Galtier, the coach of Monaco’s local rivals Nice.

In 2010, Rybolovlev left Russia after he had to sell his majority stake in fertiliser producer Uralkali to close acquaintances of president Vladimir Putin. The Monaco strongman Rybolovlev has always sought to distance himself from the Russian regime. 

In 2017, AS Monaco took control of Belgian club Cercle Brugge. The Belgians have also let it be understood that they are not worried at present.