A day of madness in Monaco as UEFA comes to town - 7M sport

A day of madness in Monaco as UEFA comes to town



Posted Saturday, August 26, 2017 by Marca.com

A day of madness in Monaco as UEFA comes to town

In days gone by the draw for the group stage of the Champions League was usually a rather dour affair but it is now a whole day of madness in Monaco thanks to the UEFA fraternity.

Not only is there the expected draw but there are awards handed out to players for their performances in the previous season, as well as opportunities for key agents to meet with club representatives to try and push through transfers just days before the window shuts.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the star of the show as he picked up the best attacker in Europe award as well as Europe's best player, and after his sensational work in the 2016/17 Champions League, it came as no surprise.

Ronaldo was joined by Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Buffon, who took the respective awards for their own positions with Real Madrid dominating the individual honours after winning the Champions League two seasons running.

There was a reunion for Lionel Messi, who embraced with former teammate Eric Abidal ahead of the Frenchman's responsibilities for Friday's Europa League draw.

As the preamble to the draw progressed it became clear that the presence of agents was having a clear impact, with reports emanating out of Monaco that Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona was basically a done deal whilst Kylian Mbappe's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain had made progress at the same time.

Mino Raiola was pictured, which set social media alight given his penchant for the dramatic, high profile transfers that have come to define the summer transfer window. Although, he stood out in his rather casual attire of shorts in comparison to the full suits worn by players and club representatives alike.

Josep Maria Bartomeu has endured an unforgettable summer for all the wrong reasons with the pressure on Barcelona's president building by the day.

As the ongoing issues with Messi's contract renewal continue to steal headlines the 54-year-old arrived in Monaco looking calm and content which may well have had something to do with Barcelona finally breaking Dortmund's resolve over Dembele.



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