From Emmanuel Petit to Kylian Mbappe, so many wonderful footballers have come through Ligue 1 giants AS Monaco over the years. The club are currently second behind PSG and favored to qualify for the Champions League in the 2024/25 season.
Let’s take a look at the five best Monaco players right now in 2024. There are well-known veteran players and underrated up-and-comers worth watching closely on this Ligue 1 side.
CM Aleksandr Golovin
Aleksandr Golovin made a name for himself at the 2018 World Cup for Russia, standing out for the host nation with a stunning 4.6 combined tackles and interceptions per game to go with 1.5 key passes per contest. Fans around the world were in disbelief at Golovin’s work ethic and motor, especially on the defensive end. He was still sprinting full-on at 90 minutes.
Since then, Golovin has become an even more dangerous player, shining on the attacking end, in particular. The 27-year-old is in the prime of his career and remains as much of a workhorse in midfield, yet he is also becoming a refined technician in the final third.
Golovin has scored six goals with six assists for Monaco so far in the 2023/24 campaign, averaging 1.7 tackles and 2.0 key passes per game.
One of the best players in Ligue 1, Golovin is extremely underrated and should be on the shortlist of the best midfielders in European football, though the team he plays for does not get the press for him to receive that credit.
At the top of his game, Golovin is one of the best in the world at winning possession while still making plays for his team. He is an engine in midfield for Monaco.
RB Vanderson
One of the best right backs in world football, Brazilian international Vanderson is cooking up another fine Ligue 1 season for the Monegasque club.
Vanderson leads the team with 3.1 tackles per game and is also averaging 1.6 interceptions per match, as he is providing just as much two-way effort and work ethic as his midfield veteran Golovin.
The 22-year-old is the next big thing on the right flank in world football. Vanderson is combining his high rate of ball-winning defensively with an average of 1.1 key passes per game. He has even scored three goals in the 2023/24 Ligue 1 campaign.
It won’t be long before top clubs around Europe try to swoop up the excellent U23 right back, as Vanderson could easily follow in the footsteps of former Lyon right back Malo Gusto by making a big move soon.
ST Wissam Ben Yedder
Wissam Ben Yedder is one of the legends of Monaco. The Frenchman has scored nearly 100 Ligue 1 goals for the Monegasques, finishing as the league’s joint top goal-scorer with Kylian Mbappe in the COVID-stricken 2019/20 season.
Although Ben Yedder hasn’t been as prolific as usual this season, the 33-year-old is still leading Monaco with 11 goals scored and has added 1.1 key passes per game to remain an all-around threat.
Last season, Ben Yedder was at his vintage best with 19 goals and 6 assists. This season, it looks like the veteran Ligue 1 superstar will break up a streak of five league seasons with at least 18 goals (including a campaign with Sevilla to begin that streak), but he remains the top dog in the Monaco attack.
CB Wilfried Singo
Wilfried Singo will be on the radar of a number of top clubs around European football as a desired young center back transfer target this summer, because only one team – and that will likely be Real Madrid – will be able to secure the signature of Lille teenager Leny Yoro in central defense.
There’s a case to be made that Singo is close to Yoro, even if he is a few years older. At 23, the Ivorian has plenty of upside in his own right and has been an absolute menace in central defense this season, averaging 1.4 tackles and 2.0 interceptions per game while rarely being dribbled past.
Monaco have a few standouts in that back line, including Vanderson and former Premier League and LaLiga star Mohammed Salisu, but Singo looks like a cut above them all.
He and Vanderson are two gems of French football every European footballing observer should know. Singo has been flying under the radar, but that could change soon.
AM Takumi Minamino
Like Wissam Ben Yedder, Takumi Minamino is surely a familiar face to many fans around the world, because he was a Liverpool player for a couple of seasons before joining Monaco in 2022 in a transfer worth nearly 20 million euros.
The Japanese international has found a home in Ligue 1 and has been one of the most important players in the Monaco effort to secure Champions League football.
So far this season, the former RB Salzburg gem has scored 8 goals with 5 assists, averaging 1.2 key passes per game as a solid playmaker for the Monegasques.
Minamino isn’t quite an elite player in the French top flight, but he is a very good, all-around attacking presence who helps his teammates and makes a difference on the final score. His versatility in the attack is a positive, too.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.