Since football fandom increasingly migrated to the online space, cult heroes have spread far and wide. No longer confined to the pitch or the dugout, managers and players have been joined by all manner of figures in the affections of fans. Newcastle United fans were so enamoured by their new Saudi owners they adopted ill-advised cosplay outfits of them. Manchester United fans created a whole series of “Murtough Madness” memes in tribute to their football director John Murtough.
But one figure stands above this cult of boardroom personality. His is a name that was on the lips of thousands of Premier League fans before he ever took a job in this country. He is Monchi.
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The former goalkeeper, whose full name is Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo, took over as director of football at Sevilla the year after his playing career had ended at the same club. Monchi arrived at a freshly-relegated side. When he left in 2017, Sevilla had captured 11 trophies during his glittering tenure. 151 players were brought to the club by Monchi as he was the behind-the-scenes architect of multiple high-achieving sides. Adriano Correira Ciaro, Ivan Rakitic, Carlos Bacca, Ever Banega, Luis Fabiano and Seydou Keita are just a small sampling of the talent Monchi employed as he refurbished the squad time after time.
He enjoyed a brief spell at Roma before he returned to Sevilla for another four-year spell between 2019 and 2023. Another pair of Europa League trophies followed before he cut ties for good to move to Aston Villa. The 54-year-old is now president of football operations for the 1982 European champions.
Monchi was arguably the first director of football to amass global appeal. The role was still viewed with suspicion in England particularly, but the undeniable job the Spaniard had done started to convert even the most traditional fans. Still, after a career built on taking one club from the second tier to European glory with astute buying and selling, Monchi was always going to be under the microscope.
Which makes his start to life at Villa all the more impressive. His first order of business was the signing of departing Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans on a free transfer. The Belgian has been coveted by the biggest clubs in the past and if manager Unai Emery can get a tune out of the 26-year-old, it will be a great piece of business.
Villa’s second major signing of the window looks even better. Villarreal defender Pau Torres has joined after being pursued by a number of Champions League clubs over the last couple of years. The 26-year-old lifted the Europa League under his new manager Emery in 2021 so the manager knows what to expect from him.
The signing can be seen as a major statement of intent. Manchester United and Chelsea had been credited with an interest in the centre-back in the past. But now he is a proud Villan ahead of the club’s first season of European football since 2010-11.
You can bet Monchi and Emery won’t stop there. The Villa boss was Sevilla manager for three years during Monchi’s tenure. They won the Europa League in every single one of those seasons. This is a DoF-manager partnership measured in silverware. Emery knows what he wants and Monchi knows how to get it. Pau Torres is unlikely to be the last major signing Villa make with Monchi as president of football operations.
When he began rebuilding Sevilla, appointing a director of football in England was seen as a foreign indulgence. Now it is commonplace, with clubs that don’t have one being seen as anachronistic. We are far removed from the days of Brian Clough sleeping on a player’s sofa until they sign a contract or Sir Alex Ferguson intercepting people at airports. Now the big transfer business is conducted like a global merger. In Monchi, Villa have just the businessman to make these deals happen.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
