Thiago Scuro, AS Monaco’s general manager, spoke to the media after the draw for the 2025-2026 Champions League playoffs. Paris Saint-Germain’s opponent approached this challenge with honesty and a thought for French football.
Thiago Scuro: “For French football, this isn’t the best draw.”
“We’ve played Paris a lot in the league, in the Trophée des Champions last season, we know each other well. So it’s a different environment for this match, and for the fans as well. For French football, it’s not the best draw in terms of the UEFA coefficient and the possibility of having two French clubs go further in the Champions League, which is very important, but it’s still an important moment for the league, for French football, to have a clash between Monaco and PSG in the Champions League.”
Thiago Scuro: “We want to go for qualification.” “
We remain confident in what we’re building, even though we’ve had a season with many ups and downs, whether in the league, in European competition, or in the Coupe de France. We’re always trying to adjust certain things, but we have some very good players. We’ve often faced PSG and we’ve played well against them. We even won the last match in Monaco recently (1-0, November 29). We want to secure qualification by facing them under the same circumstances,” these remarks were reported by L’Equipe.
Regarding French football, there is indeed the disappointment of having a club that will inevitably be eliminated before the Round of 16. This comes at the end of a match that lacks the special flavor of European competition. We can also highlight the positive: a French club is guaranteed to be in the Round of 16. Something PSG should have secured earlier.
They will need to rediscover their form to avoid another disappointment against Monaco. An opponent who is undoubtedly not entirely happy to be facing the European champions, but who possesses quality and won’t go down without a fight. Furthermore, the 1-0 victory in the league can boost their confidence, even if Paris were particularly poor in that match.
In any case, there’s no point in being afraid or defeatist. This is a competition to be enjoyed to the fullest. The Parisians must avoid falling into traps by rediscovering their scoring touch and avoiding giving their opponents any hope.
