AS Monaco celebrate 50 years of their renowned academy
AS Monaco celebrated 50 years of their renowned academy on Sunday, during AJ Auxerre's visit to the Principality.
Former players and managers present at Stade Louis II
To mark the occasion, former players and managers were present at the Stade Louis II. Pre-match, there was a procession as former players and managers received the accolades of the fans as they walked around the track of the iconic stadium, before posing in front of the Principality club's ultras. It was a moment in which the past and the present met.
There were more than 200 involved in those celebrations, including the legendary Jean-Luc Ettori, as well as Bruno Bellone, Gael Givet, Sébastien Squillaci... even current OGC Nice manager Claude Puel put his current allegiance aside for the occasion. As he has repeatedly said, both Le Gym and the Principality club occupy a place in his heart, and this was an occasion not to be missed.
Ceux qui ont écrit l’histoire de l’Academy et ceux qui l’écriront sont réunis Stade 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐢𝐬-𝐈𝐈 cet après-midi ❤️
𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 et 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐣𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭 sont heureux de pouvoir revivre l’atmosphère d’un Stade qu’ils ont marqué de leur empreinte 🇲🇨
‣… pic.twitter.com/bhEl7IO5Jw— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) April 19, 2026
For the fictive kick-off, it was fitting that Maghnes Akliouche was involved. The forward is one of the most recent graduates from La Diagonale, and he was joined by Ettori, Bellone, and the youngest player currently in the academy side, Abdel Bakayoko.
Bakayoko, like Akliouche, will look to be part of a rich lineage. Monaco have one of the most renowned academies in Ligue 1 McDonald's. It is a club that has given us the likes of Thierry Henry, Kylian Mbappé, David Trezeguet, Lilian Thuram, and Emmanuel Petit.
For 5️⃣0️⃣ years, AS Monaco Academy has been training generations that are making history ✨ pic.twitter.com/eRNwZKG26Y
— AS Monaco EN 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco_EN) April 19, 2026
"Monaco is one of the best academies in France, in the world, in terms of producing players", Djimi Traoré, manager of the Groupe Élite, has previously said. "It comes from the club's DNA." To be as successful as it is, Monaco's academy has had to overcome hurdles. Due to the Italian border to the east and Nice to the west, there isn't a large catchment area. It is a specific geographical context that has forced the Principality club to cast a wider net in their search for talent... and therein lies its strength.
Over time, Monaco's academy has gained a certain prestige, making it one of the go-to destinations, especially since the creation of the La Diagonale training building on the Monaco border, looking onto the iconic arches of the Stade Louis II, a pitch that all players who enter dream of gracing.
For many, it is a dream that becomes a reality. There were six academy products on the teamsheet on Sunday, including two in Monaco's starting XI (Akliouche and Aladji Bamba). There were a further three on the Monaco bench (Mamadou Coulibaly, Pape Cabral, and Ilane Touré) and one in the Auxerre line-up in the form of Romain Faivre. Monaco's academy has been producing for 50 years and there is no reason why it won't continue to do the same for the next 50.
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