Monaco set for return to Ligue 1 (video)

AS Monaco currently head Ligue 2 in France with a return to the top flight looking imminent.

Monaco lead nearest challengers Nantes by 4 points with a game in hand. Arguably one of the giants of French football, Monaco were relegated to the second tier at the end of the 2010/11 season after gross financial mismanagement at the club. Just 7 years earlier, the club had appeared in the Champions League Final in Gelsenkirchen, losing 3-0 to Jose Mourinho's Porto.

Lavish investment from Russian owner Dimitry Rybolovlev and the experienced management of former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri has led to somewhat of a revival this season. Monaco have not suffered defeat since December 11th of last year and are Ligue 2's leading scorers with 52 goals.

Senegalese Striker Ibrahima Toure has been crucial to Monaco's resurgence with 16 goals this campaign assisting in his side's push for promotion. Toure's goals and performances are believed to have captured the attention of English Premier League sides Reading and West Brom, yet Toure appears set to spearhead Monaco's attack in Ligue 1 next season.

With uncertainty over whether AS Monaco will be exempt from the introduction of 80% tax rates on the rich in France, it will be interesting to see if Monaco can challenge PSG for the Ligue 1 crown in the upcoming seasons.

For more on the fall and rise of AS Monaco, please read my previous article at the following link:

http://www.footballfriendsonline.com/blogs/2013/1/28/the-revival-of-as-monaco-video.html

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