EXCLUSIVE | Mark Hateley on Monaco: ‘Filipe Luís has knocked it out of the park.’

By admin — In News — October 13, 2026

   ​EXCLUSIVE | Mark Hateley on Monaco: ‘Filipe Luís has knocked it out of the park.’Former AS Monaco striker Mark Hateley sat down with Get French Football News to discuss his old team and their start to a campaign which sees them top of the table after five games.What have you made of Monaco’s start to the season?An amazing start. Especially without their talisman Folarin Balogun. He was sensational last season. Bright start [for Monaco] – tough start, as well. Winning away on the road, first game, then coming home and beating Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain, and drawing with Strasbourg. And building and building, and also bringing Balogun back into the side. It’s been a weird start for a lot of the clubs, especially PSG. You got Paris FC just sitting there [on their doorstep]. They’ve been taken over very recently by the Arnault family. A friend of mine was coaching there 18 months ago as the takeover was happening, and he said the appetite for football is incredible at that place. Let’s hope that the people that have taken over have the same appetite as their support. It would be great to have two great teams in Paris. Do you think a bit of a derby will be building between them?I think that’s what French football needs. It’s got the old Nice-Marseille, Marseille-Monaco, those sort of head-to-head games. But Paris, for a long, long time, has needed another team, especially with it being the capital. I know you’ve got all the suburb teams about an hour away from Paris, but having another team in the capital is good for French football. You’ve mentioned Balogun already, but what are your thoughts on Paris Brunner?I think he’s been exceptional. Goal scoring. Taking on the mantle. One door shuts, and another one opens in football. We’ve had it here at Rangers with Lawrence Shankland. With him being out of the side, and then Kevin Kelsy coming in and doing well. Similar sort of picking up the pace of the team. And that can only be a good thing for all teams: competition for places, especially down at Monaco, has been lacking for a while now; they’re trying to build a squad – and you can keep that squad together, instead of moving on a lot of players at the end of every season and rebuilding the side again. It’s the clubs that are normally on the fringes. They’re the sort of clubs that do that. And I don’t think Monaco is one of them. Monaco should be a constant challenger in the French league. And constantly challenging for qualification to the] Champions League. I think more has to be done on that front, building a team and keeping them together for a period of four to five years, to achieve what I rightly think they should be achieving. Do you think it’s sustainable? Could they win the league?Could they win the league? That’s a good question. They’ve started well. It’s keeping players fit. Filipe Luís will be looking through the international break at the number of games his players will play. And I  

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