Monaco confirmed parting ways with Pocognoli after a season below expectations, Filipe Luís mentioned as the leading candidate
AS Monaco officially announced on Monday, June 1, 2026, the end of its collaboration with Sébastien Pocognoli, bringing to a close the Belgian coach's short spell in charge at the Stade Louis-II. In its statement, the club from the Principality said that the collaboration ends at the conclusion of the 2025/2026 season, even though Pocognoli had signed a contract until June 2027 when he arrived in October. The decision followed a league campaign that did not meet the basic sporting objective: a return to the Champions League. Monaco finished seventh in Ligue 1, and the official club table states that they collected 54 points in 34 rounds, with 16 wins, six draws and 12 defeats. Such a finish brought a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs, but not continuity in Europe's elite competition that the management had expected.
According to the club statement, Pocognoli led Monaco in 38 matches and recorded a return of 16 wins, nine draws and 13 defeats. The club also pointed out that, under his leadership, the team reached the knockout phase of the Champions League for the second consecutive season, but the final result in the domestic championship nevertheless carried more weight in the assessment of the season. Seventh place is particularly sensitive because Monaco entered the run-in with the ambition of remaining among the clubs fighting for the Champions League, while PSG, Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille and Rennes all finished ahead of them. According to the club's official data, third-placed Lille had 61 points, fourth-placed Lyon 60, and sixth-placed Rennes 59, which shows that Monaco remained outside the zone of the main European objectives in a very tight upper part of the table.
A short mandate and high expectations in the Principality
Pocognoli arrived on the Monaco bench on October 11, 2025, after the departure of Adi Hütter, and was expected to bring stability to a team that already had European commitments and high league expectations. In its announcement at the time, AS Monaco stated that it had appointed the 38-year-old Belgian coach after his very successful period at Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. In Belgium, he built a reputation as a modern and ambitious coach, and what stood out in particular was the fact that he led Union to their first Belgian championship title in 90 years. The club from the Principality was then emphasizing his ability to combine results with an attractive style of play, which was supposed to suit the profile of a team built around young, technically gifted and marketable players.
The move to Monaco was a major step forward in Pocognoli's career, but also a significantly more demanding environment than the Belgian championship. The club from the Principality has a long tradition of developing young players and is regularly measured by European qualification, not only by domestic stability. In such a framework, seventh place, even with an appearance in the knockout phase of the Champions League, was not enough for the project to continue. According to the official statement, Monaco thanked the coach and his staff for their dedication and wished them success in the rest of their careers, a wording that confirms an orderly end to the collaboration, but does not change the fact that the change on the bench is a direct consequence of a decline in results.
The context of the decision is further strengthened by the final part of the championship. Monaco, according to the table published on the club's website, finished the season with a goal difference of plus six, with 60 goals scored and 54 conceded. At the top of the table, that was a considerably weaker defensive record than the competitors who finished ahead of them, and it was precisely the lack of balance that was one of the problems that marked the run-in. The team had enough attacking potential to fight for Europe, but not the consistency needed to qualify for the Champions League. Pocognoli himself, after the defeat in Strasbourg in mid-May, according to a post on the club's website, said that the team lacked consistency, which proved to be a summary of the season.
Europe remains, but not the one Monaco wanted
Seventh place nevertheless gives Monaco a European continuation, but through the UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs. It is a competition that can offer international visibility, revenue and the possibility of winning a trophy, but for a club with such ambitions it is still a step below the desired level. The Champions League carries far greater sporting and financial weight, and Monaco in recent years had been building the image of a club capable of developing players while simultaneously competing in the strongest European setting. That is precisely why the change of coach is not a surprise, but a continuation of a practice in which the sporting project is assessed through qualification for elite competitions.
According to the official standings, Monaco finished only one point ahead of Strasbourg, which further shows how tight qualification for Europe was. On the other hand, the gap to Rennes and Marseille, who secured a better European position, was five points, while the gap to fourth-placed Lyon was six points. In a 34-round season, such differences are not large, but they are enough to change the financial and sporting framework of the next season. Monaco will therefore enter the new competitive year with European obligations, but also with the feeling that an opportunity for a bigger step forward was missed.
For the management, the issue of continuity is particularly important. Pocognoli arrived as an up-and-coming coach, with a contract until 2027, which suggested that at least a medium-term project was being planned. Still, in modern club football, a contract often does not mean security if results do not follow expectations. In recent years, Monaco has been trying to position itself as a club that simultaneously develops players, completes transfers and remains competitive near the top of Ligue 1. When one of those elements is disrupted, especially qualification for the Champions League, pressure on the bench quickly increases.
Filipe Luís as a possible successor
The main candidate mentioned in media reports to take over Monaco is Filipe Luís, the former Brazil international and former left-back of Atlético Madrid, Chelsea and Flamengo. The Spanish daily AS reported on May 28, 2026, that the Brazilian coach was close to joining the club from the Principality and that he was expected to sign a contract until 2028. The same outlet states that Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro had an important role in the negotiations, but by the time the club statement on Pocognoli's departure was published, no official confirmation of the appointment of a new coach had been released. For that reason, Filipe Luís's arrival should for now be treated as a very serious scenario announced by the media, but not as a formally completed club decision.
Filipe Luís entered coaching after an exceptionally successful playing career, and his biggest coaching mark so far has been made at Flamengo. The Brazilian club officially announced on March 3, 2026, that he would no longer lead the first team, together with part of the coaching staff. Such a parting was surprising because it came after a period in which Flamengo won major trophies and returned to the top of South American football. According to Flamengo's official announcement, the club thanked him for everything that had been achieved and shared during their time together, without giving a more detailed explanation of the reasons for ending the collaboration.
His strongest argument in negotiations with European clubs is certainly his trophy-winning record. After the 2025 CONMEBOL Libertadores final, FIFA highlighted that Filipe Luís had become the first person in Flamengo's history to win that competition both as a player and as a coach. CONMEBOL also stated that Flamengo won their fourth South American title in 2025, and Filipe Luís thereby joined the rare group of coaches who have won the biggest continental trophy both from the pitch and from the bench. Such a biography gives him strong authority in the dressing room, although Monaco would be his first independent coaching spell in European club football.
The risk and potential of the new choice
If the media reports are confirmed, the choice of Filipe Luís would mean that Monaco is once again choosing a coach with pronounced developmental potential, but also with a certain dose of risk. Pocognoli also arrived as a coach who had achieved an above-average result at his previous stop and was expected to transfer his idea to a more demanding environment. The difference is that Filipe Luís carries the added weight of a great playing career and recent continental success with Flamengo, but he still has no experience of leading a European club through the rhythm of Ligue 1, European qualifiers and a packed schedule. That would be the central question of his possible mandate in Monaco.
On the other hand, Monaco is a club that traditionally functions well with coaches willing to work with younger players and a valuable squad. In such a model, the coach must simultaneously develop individuals, maintain results and adapt to possible changes in the transfer window. As a player, Filipe Luís went through elite systems in Spain, England and Brazil, and as a coach he quickly reached major trophies at Flamengo. That does not guarantee success in Ligue 1, but it explains why he is being linked with a project in which the coach is required to have authority, tactical clarity and the ability to work with high-potential players.
For Monaco, the summer of 2026 will also be important because of squad-related questions. The team that finished seventh was not far from the upper positions, but the difference between qualifying for the Champions League and the Conference League play-offs is often measured in details: defensive stability, continuity of form, squad depth and the ability to beat direct competitors. The new coach, regardless of name, will have to quickly set clear priorities because European qualifiers come early, and the league race in France does not leave much room for long periods of adaptation.
The management's message after another change
Parting ways with Pocognoli sends a clear message about Monaco's ambitions. The club publicly acknowledged his contribution, especially the European performance in the Champions League, but at the same time made a move that shows that domestic placement remains the main measure of the season. Seventh place in Ligue 1 is not a catastrophe in a sporting sense because it brings a European route, but for Monaco it is not a result that can satisfy strategic objectives. The club wants to be in the group that regularly fights for the Champions League, and finishing behind six competitors showed that there are structural problems that the new technical decision needs to solve.
For Pocognoli, leaving Monaco does not have to mean a long-term setback. In Belgium, he has already shown that he can build a winning team, and the experience in France, including Champions League matches, will further shape his profile. Still, his mandate in the Principality will be remembered as an attempt that had solid European moments, but did not deliver the league result needed for the collaboration to continue. In football, where coaches are increasingly judged by immediate impact, a few months and 38 matches were enough for the management to conclude that the project needed new energy.
Monaco now enters a period in which it must quickly resolve the question of a successor and prepare the team for a season with a different European status. According to available information, Filipe Luís is the most prominent name in that process, but official confirmation remains the key step. If the Brazilian really does take over the bench, he will face the task of returning Monaco to the fight for the Champions League while at the same time avoiding the trap of a transitional season. After the parting with Pocognoli, the criterion of success has already been clearly set: a place in Europe is not enough by itself, Monaco wants a return among the clubs competing at the highest level.
Sources:
- AS Monaco – official statement on the end of collaboration with Sébastien Pocognoli and his record on the bench (link)
- AS Monaco – official announcement of Sébastien Pocognoli's appointment in October 2025 and his coaching biography (link)
- AS Monaco – official Ligue 1 table for the 2025/2026 season with Monaco's position and record (link)
- Diario AS – report on Monaco's negotiations with Filipe Luís and the announced contract until 2028 (link)
- Clube de Regatas do Flamengo – official statement on Filipe Luís's departure from the Flamengo bench (link)
- FIFA – article on Filipe Luís as a Copa Libertadores winner with Flamengo as both player and coach (link)
- CONMEBOL – official report on Flamengo's 2025 CONMEBOL Libertadores triumph and Filipe Luís's historic achievement (link)