The billionaire boss of Monaco and his TPO deals with Jorge Mendes
By Michel Henry, Agathe Duparc, Michaël Hajdenberg et Yann Philippin
Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, owner and chairman of French football club AS Monaco, held, via his own investment fund, economic rights in football players, some of whom played for Monaco, according to documents obtained from the whistle-blowing Football Leaks platform by the journalistic consortium European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), in which Mediapart is a founding partner. The Third-Party Ownership investments, which raised clear issues of a potential conflict of interest, were mounted in association with football ‘super-agent’ Jorge Mendes, who himself made at least 6.85 million euros from the deals. Michel Henry, Agathe Duparc, Michaël Hajdenberg and Yann Philippin report.
Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who since 2011 is the majority shareholder and chairman of French football club AS Monaco, also owns, in all secrecy, an offshore investment fund that bought financial stakes in players, including some who played for his Riviera club.