Have you ever thought of the Monaco team that reached the 2017 UCL Semis? AS Monaco had such an incredible 2016-17 season. They won the league, got to the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, the semi-final of the Coupe de France, and also got to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. They were easily one of the best teams in Europe that season. And it was extra impressive because this was a team that had just gained promotion back to Ligue 1 4 years prior, and they also didn’t spend a lot on players.
Monaco team that reached the 2017 UCL Semis
Today, we want to look at the players who made that run happen. This is the Monaco team that reached the 2017 Champions League semi-final and where they are now.
1. Radamel Falcao
Let’s start with the captain of that squad – Radamel Falcao. Already in his 30s then, Falcao was one of the most experienced players in that team. After what he was able to achieve with that young Monaco side, he moved to Galatasaray in 2019, and then in 2021, he moved to Rayo Vallecano where he currently plays.
2. Kylian Mbappe
Talking about the Golden Boy, Kylian Mbappe, who only just turned 18 during that season, was easily one of Monaco’s best players. Without him, that run would not have happened. Anyone who saw the kid play instantly knew he was going to be a megastar, so it was no surprise that after that season, PSG came for him, first taking him on loan and then buying him permanently the following year.
Mbappe has since gone on to do exploits for PSG, winning numerous trophies with them, already PSG’s all-time top scorer at the age of 24 but it looks like his days there are numbered. He has teased leaving the club on a few occasions, and you just get the feeling that he won’t be there for much longer.
3. Bernardo Silva
Mbappe was not the only person to leave Monaco that season, you know. The little wizard who wore the number 10 jersey for the club that season also left.
He was just 22 at the time, but he played like he had an entire world of experience. Pep Guardiola saw that and knew he had to have him instantly. If you remember, Monaco knocked Man City out in the round of 16 of that tournament, and it was in those games that Pep and his staff made up their minds about Bernardo.
He joined City in 2017 and has been killing it for them ever since. Every other summer, it feels like Bernardo Silva is going to leave City, but then he stays and turns out to be one of their best players.
4. Benjamin Mendy
Benjamin Mendy also caught Pep Guardiola’s eye that year. So, City signed the Frenchman in the summer of 2017 and things were going well at first, but then, he got charged with 4 counts of rape and 1 count of sexual assault in August 2021 and that halted his career.
The case dragged out for years but he was finally completely cleared in July 2023. That month, he joined Lorient in the Ligue 1, and poetically, he made his debut for the club against Monaco.
5. Tiemoue Bakayoko
Another guy who was snatched by a Premier League club that year was Tiemoue Bakayoko. He was just 22 and was already looking really solid, so Chelsea signed him and thought they could make magic by pairing him up with his international teammate N’Golo Kante, but it just didn’t work out.
Bakayoko was something of a flop at Chelsea, so the Blues started to loan him out, first to AC Milan, then back to Monaco, then to Napoli, then to Milan again. After his second stint at Milan, his contract with Chelsea was finally up, so he left England and joined Lorient on a free transfer. That move means that Bakayoko and Mendy are now back to being teammates once again.
But English clubs were not even done with this team. Silva, Mendy, and Bakayoko were snatched by Premier League clubs in 2017, but it didn’t stop there. The following year, they were back for more.
6. Joao Moutinho
In 2018, Joao Moutinho joined Wolves, the one Premier League club which feels like a Portuguese team. Anyway, after 5 years there, Moutinho moved back to Portugal in 2023, joining Braga on a one-year deal.
7. Fabinho
Also in the summer of 2018, Liverpool signed Fabinho from Monaco, and he was instantly so solid for the Reds, helping them win the Champions League in his first season there. He would go on to spend 5 years in England before moving to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Ittihad in 2023.
8. Djibril Sidibe
So far, it seems like the entire team left in 2017 or 2018, but that’s what makes Djibril Sidibe special. The World Cup winner remained at Monaco until 2022 when he moved to Greece to join AEK Athens.
But it should be said, however, that in 2019, he left Monaco for one season to join Everton on loan. Guess it’s safe to say that it was Premier League clubs who benefitted the most from that Monaco team.
9. Thomas Lemar
Did La Liga even get any?
Well, yes, actually, they did. Thomas Lemar left Monaco to join Atletico Madrid in 2018 and he still plays there to date. He’s had his moments since moving to the Spanish capital but hasn’t shown consistency. At least he has a La Liga winners medal to show for his efforts.
10. Kamil Glik
Serie A also got their share of the spoils, albeit a little later. Kamil Glik was a regular center-back for Monaco that season, and he remained with the club until 2020 when he joined newly-promoted Serie A side Benevento.
But in the summer of 2023, the Polish defender moved back to Poland to play for Cracovia. At the age of 35, he has probably moved back there to play out his last days as a professional footballer.
11. Andrea Raggi
Speaking of last days, Andrea Raggi spent his last days in Monaco. The Italian center-back retired in 2019 at the age of 35 after playing for Monaco for 7 years.
12. Danijel Subasic
Let’s wrap up this list with Monaco’s number 1 from that era, Danijel Subasic. The Croatian goalie was with Monaco for 8 and a half years between 2012 and 2020.
He left in 2020 but was without a club for one year. Then in 2021, he rejoined his old club in Croatia called Hajduk Split where he spent 2 years before officially retiring from professional football in 2023.
There you have it! The Monaco XI made it to the semi-final of the 2017 Champions League. None of them is still at the club. Isn’t that crazy?
Fun fact, just 2 years after this insane run, Monaco went from winning the league to finishing 17th on the Ligue 1 table, just one spot above the relegation zone. Clubs really suffer when their teams are picked apart like that. Ask Ajax; they, too, have a similar story.
Anyway, is there any other team from any year whose XI you’d like us to check on?
Let us know in the comments.
