Oleg Petrov at Figaro: "Monaco wants to play the title every season"

From the business world to the world of football, sometimes there is only one step. The one Oleg Petrov crossed by becoming, just over a year ago, vice-president and general manager of AS Monaco after having worked in various fields (diamonds, electronics, potash). Experiences that brought this 56-year-old polyglot to cross the path of the owner of the princely club, Dmitri Rybolovlev, who entrusted him with the succession of Vadim Vasyliev last February. He received "Le Figaro" for almost an hour at the Stade Louis II. Interview.

LE FIGARO - Before taking the reins of the ASM, you were not particularly familiar with the round ball…

Oleg PETROV - That's right. Dmitri Rybolovlev's offer was a surprise. I had already come to the club, I knew Vadim (Vasyliev), I followed the club, but I was on another project, I was not preparing for that. I nevertheless said yes fairly quickly. The project fit well with what I aspired to. There are many things that I enjoy in my activity here, such as the intensity, to do things myself and to be the basis of a project whose results are tangible quickly, but also the aspect relational and human. So I didn't have many doubts.

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What type of leader are you?

I like to delegate once I feel comfortable, that things are in place. But during this first year, I got involved a lot personally. Even in sectors where I did not expect to have to be, like in sports, especially in transfer negotiations. I was also very involved with the coach, the players ... At one point, I would probably be less, but I had no choice in fact: the team was under the threat of relegation when I was come. We spoke very often with the coach. I was obviously not the decision maker on sports choices, but I represented the club. And it allowed me to understand many things that would have been more complicated to apprehend so quickly if I had stayed further behind.

What about the sports director?

We are looking for one. It takes time because it is an essential role for the club. I plan to resolve this problem in the coming months, before the transfer window, because we have a lot of things to do. This time, we will have to be ready sooner. We also have players for whom we have to find a solution, players on loan for example. We will be active at the next transfer window, in both directions. Regarding the sports director, I met several people, I will meet others. I won't give you a name (smile), but it takes time.

"It would be pretentious to say that we want to take the place of PSG, but to fight with it, to beat it from time to time, that is the goal"

Are you satisfied with the work of your coach Robert Moreno?

I am very satisfied with him, his staff, it is a pleasure to work with them. They work hard, they are very professional, attentive, open and anything but stubborn. This also applies to the goalkeepers' coach, who does a wonderful job, or the physical trainers. Humanly, Roberto and his staff are simple, humble, and it was the same thing with the previous technical team.

In the medium or long term, do you aim to compete with PSG on the French scene?

I would not speak of objectives in relation to PSG. We are aware of the size of this club, of its financial capacity. We want to be part of the two or three best in France. My goal would be to be the best behind PSG. Afterwards, we aim to win Ligue 1 in the future. This is also the objective of the president. It would be pretentious to say that we want to take the place of PSG, but to fight with it, to beat it from time to time, that's the goal. We want to be able to fight for the title each season. And the same goes for the Champions League. We don't just want to participate to garner TV rights or do figuration.

"We would like to find the new Mbappé"

Will young people remain at the heart of the Monegasque project?

Yes. We will attach even more importance to the Academy. Other clubs understand this logic very well and do an excellent job in Europe, in France too. We are recruiting young French talents, such as Youssouf Fofana, Aurélien Tchouaméni or Jean Marcelin, who arrived during the last transfer window in January. We want to do even better, especially to exploit the French breeding ground, for example with more partnerships with amateur clubs, to strengthen the recruitment structure for the Academy… We have recruited a lot of young talents, we have to create more, at image of Benoît Badiashile.

Also like Kylian Mbappé, from Monaco training…

We would like to find the new Mbappé! But he is the kind of player we only meet once every ten years ... There aren't many Mbappé. He is an incredible talent. We are very proud to have released it.

Over 11 million followers

Besides the sportsman proper, what levers can be used to advance the club?

We want to continue working on the infrastructures, with the training center which will be operational in January 2021, the construction site of the Diagonal (future living place of the Academy). In addition, we want to do even better in terms of marketing, promotion of the AS Monaco brand. We want to attract more people, supporters to ASM around the world. We are working on it with Markus Breglec (new marketing director, ex-Liverpool). We are also working to attract new sponsors. I also want the Academy and the professional team to be more connected. We have already made a lot of changes within the medical staff, notably with the arrival of Doctor Til-Pérez (ex-Barça and Benfica). The results are spectacular compared to last season, when we had up to 17 injured. We are also doing a lot in terms of digital communication and an ambitious project on e-sport. With more than 11 million followers on social networks, we are second in France behind PSG. I was surprised by the progress on digital, especially in China. We reached our annual objectives in February! This is at least partly because Monaco rhymes with "lifestyle", not just sport. We will also continue to rely on the Bruges Circle (branch club), an important project for the club.

“Rybolovlev is not thinking of selling the club. He likes the club, the game, the championship "

How long do you plan to stay in Monaco?

I do not know. I clearly see what I have to do in the next three years. It takes time to take the club to a new stage. Not forever, but for the next three years, I see what I have to do. And then we'll see. My work will be judged on the results in all cases.

And Dmitri Rybolovlev?

He is not thinking of selling the club. He likes the club, the game, the championship. It's for the long term ...

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