Monaco chief executive Thiago Scuro has offered his version of a frantic transfer deadline day, when proposed Premier League transfers involving Folarin Balogun and Lamine Camara both collapsed.
Balogun was on course to join Everton, but doubts emerged during his medical. Monaco subsequently opened talks with Chelsea over a deal for midfielder Camara.
Everton later revived Balogun’s transfer after revisiting the terms, prompting Monaco to end negotiations with Chelsea. The Ligue 1 club did not want to lose both players on the same day.
The situation took another twist when Balogun ultimately decided against moving to Everton. Both he and Camara therefore remained in Monaco, while Chelsea were left deeply frustrated by the late reversal.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Scuro mounted a strong defence of Monaco’s conduct and rejected the suggestion that the club had been “the bad guys” in the deadline-day drama.
Scuro said Monaco had been prepared to sanction Balogun’s departure but had never intended to sell Camara. He insisted that the midfielder had been told of the club’s stance earlier in the day, after Monaco had already turned down several approaches for him during the summer.
Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro has explained the chain of events behind a chaotic deadline day, when Premier League transfers for Folarin Balogun and Lamine Camara both fell apart
Folarin Balogun was expected to join Everton before the transfer collapsed at the final stage
“During the day, we had a clear agreement for Balogun to go to Everton. He flew yesterday morning to complete his medical and sign the contract,” Scuro said.
“Balogun, as well as providing salary relief, was also an important source of income for the club. Lamine, meanwhile, was expected to stay.”
“That was the situation until the middle of the afternoon. Chelsea had continued to ask about Lamine and had been testing our position for around 10 days. They kept asking: ‘What about Lamine?’”
“At about 4pm, Chelsea contacted us after selling a midfielder, Enzo Fernandez. They asked whether Monaco might now be willing to consider a sale. Our answer was exactly the same: no. At that time, Balogun was in Liverpool completing his medical and everything appeared to be progressing well.”
According to Scuro, Everton returned around 7pm with concerns about Balogun’s medical. He said those concerns were difficult to understand, both for Monaco’s medical team and for the player’s own medical advisers.
While Monaco continued discussions with Everton over Balogun’s condition, Chelsea renewed their efforts to sign Camara and negotiations over a possible transfer moved forward.
“Then, around 10pm or perhaps a little earlier, Everton decided there was no issue and told us they were ready to proceed and sign the contract,” Scuro said.
“Once we received that information, we went back to Chelsea and said: ‘We have our deal there, so there will be no deal for Camara.’ That was the fair thing to do. This is also part of how the transfer market works.”
“All of us chose to conduct this business on the final day of the window, with the clock running down and everyone trying to find solutions. It is not fair for that kind of fast-moving negotiation to make Monaco appear to be the bad guys.”
“Blaming Monaco for what happened is not fair. We informed everyone once again that there was no agreement with Chelsea, and we continued progressing with Balogun’s transfer.”
However, just as the Everton move appeared close to completion, Balogun decided not to go through with it. The forward had reportedly been upset by Everton’s initial concerns about his medical, leaving both transfers dead at the last possible moment.
Chelsea were left furious after their late attempt to sign Lamine Camara from Monaco ultimately fell through
Scuro said: ‘Balogun’s allegation is that “I’m not feeling good because of the way the club treated me. I’m not feeling good because Everton’s medical department raised doubts about my future or my health. I have nothing (no health problem), so I’m not comfortable signing a long contract here.”
‘And the reality is that when Balo mentioned to us this feeling that he was not comfortable, he didn’t want to sign. We didn’t see ourselves in a position to push him. We had to respect his decision.’
Scuro added that Balogun may still depart in the next few days to a league where the transfer window remains open, while he believes Camara could still move onto ‘better things’ in the future.
He also insisted he sympathised with both players over their respective sagas.