Why is Roma, Real Madrid target Monchi such a wanted man? | Justin Sherman

The year was 2000 and one of Spain’s most visible and prestigious clubs was in a complete state of turmoil. Having spent two of the previous three seasons in the Segunda, Sevilla were slowly being crippled financially, while the merry-go-round of club hierarchy included four different presidents and three different managers. Tension had fully gripped the city, like an anaconda squeezing the last few breaths out from its prey.

Supporters revolted, fed up with the status quo, demanding that someone breathe life back into their dying club. Sevilla’s owners knew something drastic needed to be done, so they zeroed in on the role of sporting director as one of their chief priorities. Without the funds to hire a proven commodity, the club reached out to a familiar face in the hope that he could cure all its ills.

Having just retired from playing the game the season prior, Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, or more affectionately referred to as Monchi, was unemployed and eager for his life to have meaning again.

Monchi was a product of Sevilla's youth system, before eventually graduating to the B team in which he made 41 appearances. In 1990, his dream would finally be realized as he was promoted to the first team to serve as the primary backup to Juan Carlos Unzué. He would only go on to make 85 appearances throughout his career, but his loyalty and willingness to be a total professional was something that never went lost on his superiors.



With this in mind, the club offered the position to Monchi and he accepted without hesitation. Immediately they went to work, starting with the board laying out two main objectives that they deemed non-negotiable: develop the club's youth system and implement a vast scouting policy inside and outside of Spain.

Fast forward 16 years, and the success of Monchi in those two areas has become the stuff of legend. As the lifeblood of any financially challenged club, the youth system is the quickest way to not only make your team competitive again but also balance the books. With Monchi at the helm, Sevilla began to churn out talented youngsters like Chipotle does burritos.

It was a who’s who cast of characters, including the likes of Sergio Ramos, Jesús Navas, Alberto Moreno, Luis Alberto and José Antonio Reyes. All would springboard their careers in Andalucia, attracting the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs and, more importantly, their wallets. Each would eventually find the exit door, but not before returning a near €100m in profit to line the clubs pockets.

Seeing many of their homegrown idols depart was heartbreaking for many supporters but they understood the nature of the business. It also didn’t hurt that as soon as one talented individual departed another would most assuredly fill his void.



With a network of over 700 scouts scouring the globe, Monchi was able to have his eyes and ears figuratively everywhere. Sevilla were constantly one step ahead of other clubs, signing talented individuals years before others would even care to notice them. As a result, this made for a plethora of amazing bargains that made Los Sevillanos the envy of other clubs. Those presidents were then left to deal with raucous supporters who would turn their fury at their own sporting directors for not being capable of implementing the same model.

It seemed that wherever and whenever Monchi would wave his wand, magic would follow. Over the course of time he would sign Andrés Palop for goal; a back four of Dani Alves, Federico Fazio, Martin Cáceres and Adriano; Júlio Baptista, Ivan Rakitic, Christian Poulsen and Seydou Keita in the midfield; Luís Fabiano and Carlos Bacca up front. All were purchased for a little over €25m, or roughly €6.5m less than what Real Madrid paid for Danilo. All would eventually be sold too, this time for around €170m. Still, all the good business in the world wouldn’t be satisfactory if there weren’t any semblance of results to match.

The first five years of Monchi’s tenure were a slow and arduous building process. Old habits die hard, and the Spaniard’s implementation of systems and ideals would need to run their course before bearing fruit. Through patience and perseverance, that ripe and delectable piece finally arrived in the form of the Europa League in 2006. Since that point Sevilla have played in 13 additional finals, winning two Copa del Reys, one Supercopa de España, one UEFA Super Cup and another four Europa League titles -- an all-time record.

You may be wondering how all of this is possible with all of the interchangeable parts the club must juggle, but this success has been sustainable due to Sevilla having cultivated an atmosphere that is conducive to players succeeding and improving. Despite their vast scouting network to pick up the hidden gems, the Sanchez Pizjuan has increasingly also become a stage for fallen stars to rediscover their form.

This season alone he has turned Manchester City leper, Samir Nasri, into a productive, dependable and seemingly happy individual. Expecting those three things from the Frenchman a year ago would’ve been about as probable as Donald Trump becoming president (oops). The second as far as resurrections go would be that of Stevan Jovetić. Since arriving from Inter in the winter window, the Montenegrin has scored 4 goals in 11 appearances, including a thunder-bolt in the waning minutes to shock Real Madrid and end their La Liga record 40-match unbeaten run.

These contributions have allowed Sevilla to hover around the top-3 of the league all season, wrestling a spot away that many people fancied would belong to Atletico. Even more, Sevilla reached the round of 16 in the UCL for only the second time in their history. Despite suffering a shock to Leicester City, the path of ambition has now been laid for future teams to walk down.

And to think, that last summer all of this could've been completely different.

After 30 years at the club, Monchi notified the club of his desire to resign for “personal reasons”. Knowing how important he is, the club granted the Spaniard permission but only under the condition that he pay €10 million. He refused, and so his 16th season went ahead as scheduled. Now the rumours are once again swirling, having only been emboldened by comments from Sevilla technical secretary Oscar Arias, who told ABCdeSevilla:

"Speaking to Monchi, I understand that his decision [to leave] is firm. What I don't know is when it will happen. "If he left, we probably would lose the most important person at Sevilla right now."

Spanish newspaper, Marca, have also reported that Sevilla's board of directors last week granted Monchi permission to leave the club at the end of the season without having to pay the €10m, just under the condition that the 48-year-old would return to the club in the future. With blood in the water sharks have begun to circle, including the biggest great white of them all, Real Madrid. With presidential elections expected to take place this summer, Florentino Perez is eager to strengthen the sporting department by adding the highly rated Monchi, a move he believes would only boost his campaign.



In Italy, Roma are also said to be interested and were even reported to already have an agreement for Monchi to arrive later this summer. The Stadio Olimpico would appear to be the best fit, as it’s model is similar to Sevilla’s in stature and would likely grant the autonomy he craves, while the prospect of Florentino breathing down his neck like some psychotic stalker at every turn could be an uncomfortable one.

Whatever the future may hold, Monchi’s legacy at Sevilla is one that is etched in stone. With a new masterpiece waiting to be sculpted, his suitors await with mallets and chisels.

Justin Sherman (@JShermOfficial)