Seconds after Aston Villa had sealed an automatic spot in the last 16 of the Champions League by defeating Celtic last January, Monchi could not contain his excitement.
There was Villa’s ‘president of football operations’ on the touchline, roaring with delight and pumping his fists as though he had scored the winning goal.
Whether he was beaming for the cameras alongside Villa’s man of the match, or taking a pre-match selfie with fellow senior figures, Monchi was always centre stage on the big European nights.
A matter of months later, Monchi – full name Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo – has exited stage left, the first casualty of Villa’s alarming start to the season. He may feel aggrieved.
After all, it was not Monchi who failed to mark Granit Xhaka on the edge of the box to allow Sunderland to equalise last Sunday, nor Monchi who failed to connect with Jadon Sancho’s cross when unmarked four yards out.
Yet by any analysis, Monchi leaves Villa with his status damaged. With his grand title and salary to match, Monchi arrived two summers ago with a huge reputation. He leaves behind an ageing squad, a hefty wage bill and a club riddled with uncertainty.
Monchi has left Aston Villa after two years which promised much but did not deliver as they would have hoped
The exit is the latest low point of a turgid start to Villa’s season, sitting 18th with just three points, having scored only one Premier League goal and out of the Carabao Cup
Why has Monchi left?
The clue was in Emery’s team selection for the 1-1 draw at Sunderland. Of the nine starters, only Morgan Rogers and Evann Guessand were signed in the Emery/Monchi era.
Monchi had little involvement with signing Rogers, who was effectively handpicked by Emery in January 2024 after Villa played Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, and it is too early to judge £30million attacker Guessand, who arrived from Nice in August.
None of the other key signings of the Monchi era have become first-team regulars: Amadou Onana was the record signing at £52m, Ian Maatsen was brought for £38m and Donyell Malen for £20m. Pau Torres arrived less than a month after Monchi did, and some of the groundwork for that deal had been done.
While the loan deals for Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio last January helped revive the season, their arrivals fail to deliver the Champions League return Villa craved.
Due to UEFA spending rules and the fact they lack the revenue of the so-called ‘Big Six’, Villa had to sell well this summer. Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins wanted to leave and Morgan Rogers had admirers among England’s wealthiest elite.
Yet no serious bid was forthcoming for any of those players – remarkable given the status of Watkins and Martinez the fact Rogers’ stock was so high. The most skilful sporting directors know when to sell as well as buy, and Villa have largely done well, bringing in about £130m for Jhon Duran, Jacob Ramsey and Jaden Philogene.
In the summer, though, only Ramsey was sold for a significant fee, and Villa needed further funds to chase targets like Asensio or Nicolas Jackson, a long-term Emery favourite. It is unclear how high the deadline day loan signings, Harvey Elliott and Sancho, were on Emery’s list. This lack of financial wriggle room is sure to have irked Emery.
For most of the last two years, Emery, Monchi and director of football Damian Vidagany formed a tight trio running Villa. This season, Monchi had seemed a little more distant than before. Now we know why.
Of the nine starters at Sunderland on Sunday, only Evann Guessand (left) and Morgan Rogers (right) arrived in the Monchi era
Damian Vidagany (left) and Monchi welcome Marcus Rashford to the club on loan in February
Who might come next?
Monchi was not Villa’s first choice for the football ‘president’ role.
They initially identified Mateu Alemany, the former Barcelona director of football, moving for Monchi only when Alemany opted not to take the job. Unlike Monchi, a former goalkeeper, Alemany has a background in law and finance.
Someone like Alemany would have been an asset during the era of PSR (the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations) and UEFA’s squad cost ratio rules. Monchi built his reputation through scouting, not spreadsheets. Co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens may look at candidates with financial as well as football expertise, in a time of such complex rules.
Yet in the short term, do not be surprised if Villa’s chief scout Alberto Benito assumes a little more responsibility.
Benito is one of Emery’s closest allies in football: they played together at Spanish club Toledo, and Benito was with Emery at Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal. With the January window now three months away, Benito may be asked to step up.
There will also be yet more duties for director of football Damian Vidagany, arguably the most powerful figure at Villa after Emery. Vidagany was front and centre during contract and transfer negotiations during the summer and is trusted absolutely by Emery.
But the identity of the Monchi’s successor, if there is to be one, will tell us much about Emery’s power base – unbreakable until now.
If it is a candidate whose path has never crossed Emery’s, it will suggest the club are looking to the post-Emery era, whenever that may begin.
Villa’s first choice for Monchi’s role was Mateu Alemany (second right), the former Barcelona director of football
The next man in will be a huge clue as to the future of Unai Emery, who has been handed a huge amount of power since he came in
What will be in the new man’s in-tray?
Villa’s on-pitch success under Emery has masked the occasionally wobbly moments off it. After such a poor start to the campaign, cracks have been exposed.
Nearly every successful club has a coherent transfer policy and this must be at the front of mind for Villa. With Emery all-powerful, they have largely targeted players ready to perform instantly, and handed new contracts to all key men, increasing the wage bill significantly.
Yet it seems inevitable that Villa will have to sell a major asset next summer and this is the time to prepare.
Will they have data scouting to underpin their structure, as many clubs do? Will they look to sign more young players who can be part of the first-team squad immediately, rather than signing those who can be moved out on loan, and then sold to improve the financial position?
Right now Villa look like a club in a fix. Yet there should be plenty for a high-class sporting director to get his teeth into. Villa hoped Monchi would be that man. Whatever the next formula may be, a huge improvement is needed.
