Monaco is usually home to the rich and discreet.
Located on the French Riviera, it is where you are just as likely to see a Ferrari pulling into the famous Place du Casino as you are a luxurious yacht arriving at Port Hercules.
It is awash with money. Designer handbags and fancy cars are part of the everyday norm — but over the past 48 hours, Monaco has played host to a different audience.
The great and good of European football descended on the second-smallest sovereign state in the world for UEFA’s Champions League, Europa League and Conference League draws, which took place at the Grimaldi Forum across Thursday and Friday.
Whether it was Behdad Eghbali, Chelsea’s co-owner, heading into a private dining area at the glitzy Le Meridien Beach Plaza hotel with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of Qatar Sports Investment and president of Paris Saint-Germain, on Thursday afternoon, or football agents cosying up to club executives, there seemed to be a conversation relating to the beautiful game worth listening to taking place around every corner.
With the transfer window open until Monday, September 1, for most leagues, there are still deals to be done and with everyone congregated in the same small area, Monaco is about as good a place as anywhere to do them.
Over two days, it became the epicentre of European football.
As one of the two designated UEFA hotels in Monaco, Le Meridien, with its private beach and outdoor swimming pools, was a hive of activity. One minute, Luis Figo, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid player, could be seen striding through its lobby and the next, it might be Kaka, another former Ballon d’Or and Champions League winner.
A fleet of black Mercedes Vito vans adorned with UEFA’s logo lined the street outside, ready to transport club executives and delegates to and from the Grimaldi Forum conference centre in time for the respective draws for European football’s top club competitions.
As well as a five-star hotel stay and free road transport, another perk the VIP guests received was a complimentary portable speaker.
UEFA-branded vans ready to take club delegates to the Grimaldi Forum (Dan Sheldon/The Athletic)
Before Thursday evening’s Champions League draw got underway, Eghbali held court with Theodore Theodoridis, UEFA’s general secretary, ahead of taking his seat.
Jason Gannon, Chelsea’s chief operating officer, picked up a special recognition award on behalf of the Premier League club from Alexander Ceferin, UEFA’s president, to commemorate them completing the set of all three European trophies, having won last season’s Conference League to go with Champions League titles in 2012 and 2021 and the Europa League in 2013 and 2019.
When the Champions League draw concluded, the VIP guests and executives, who included FIFA’s general secretary Mattias Grafstrom, headed to an after-party at the plush Sporting Monte-Carlo venue, where they were treated to an array of food and drinks, followed by a UEFA-inspired drone show.
The English Football Association’s chair, Debbie Hewitt, was among those in attendance. Much-travelled former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had earlier received the president’s award on stage, did not put in an appearance.
A seafront view from Le Meridien Beach Plaza hotel (Dan Sheldon/The Athletic)
Todd Boehly, Chelsea’s other co-owner, had planned to fly over from London for the draw, only for his plane to be delayed by bad weather, which meant he was unable to make it in time.
He did, however, appear at the after-party, and looked relaxed in shorts, flip-flops and a Los Angeles Lakers T-shirt (he is also a co-owner of the NBA franchise) as he walked through the lobby clutching a handful of documents at Le Meridien the following morning.
Another absentee was Evangelos Marinakis, the Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest owner, who instead held a private party at Sass’ Cafe, a celebrity hotspot decorated with leopard-print walls and furniture, until the early hours of the morning.
Nasser Al-Khelaifi greets fans before Thursday’s Champions League draw (Kristian Skeie – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Friday’s Europa League and Conference League draws, which were held back-to-back, led to a scenario where Steve Parish, the Crystal Palace chairman, and Marinakis were sitting just two rows apart and only a few yards away from each other.
Palace had qualified for the Europa League by winning last season’s FA Cup but were demoted to the third-tier Conference League (and had to get through a two-leg play-off to finally reach the league phase of that), with Forest getting elevated to take their place, after they were deemed to have breached UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules, with John Textor’s Eagle Football’s 43 per cent stake ruled to be in conflict with the same group’s majority stake in French side Lyon.
Once the Europa League draw had finished, Marinakis got up from his seat and headed for the exit, which meant he had to walk past Parish.
In the bowels of the Grimaldi Forum, and with the Conference League draw still taking place, Marinakis was seen deep in conversation with Rafaela Pimenta, a leading football agent. Not too far away was his son Miltiadis; Edu, his group’s global head of football; and Kia Joorabchian, a close ally of the Brazilian.
Forest owner Marinakis, left, socialises before Friday’s Europa League draw (Francesco Scaccianoce – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Although the main attraction — and the reason for this week’s gathering — was the Champions League draw, everyone took advantage of being enclosed in a relatively small space.
Club executives were able to chat casually over lunch with a view of the Mediterranean Sea, while football agents had access to some of the biggest movers and shakers when it comes to attempting to get a deal over the line before the window shuts until January on Monday.
The conversations and handshakes that took place were evidence of that.
And as the black Mercedes vans carted the travelling executives off to Nice Airport for their flights home, they left hoping they would be back to do it all over again this time next year.
(Top photo: Francesco Scaccianoce – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
