Andorran Fund Clayton Sport Offers to Rescue Monaco Basket with Ronaldinho Backing

An Andorran investment fund, Clayton Sport—the group behind FC Andorra—has emerged as a contender to rescue AS Monaco Basket from financial collapse, with Brazilian football icon Ronaldinho listed among project backers.

The fund sent a letter of intent earlier this week to Monaco's general manager, Oleksiy Yefimov, pledging to pay off the club's €2.5 million debt to the EuroLeague and supply a €5 million bank guarantee demanded by France's DNCCG financial regulator. Proponents claim the deal would also secure the club's long-term economic stability.

Ronaldinho, the 46-year-old former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star, attended a charity match in Monaco in June during the Formula 1 Grand Prix, where initial contacts reportedly formed. His involvement could boost the bid's media and commercial appeal, according to reports citing RMC Sport and L'Équipe.

The proposal gains further momentum from potential government support: Monaco's executive may waive a €20 million loan that helped the club, last season's French champions, finish the campaign. Clayton Sport's entry would extend its sports interests from Spanish second-division football into a prominent European basketball club.

Monaco faces mounting pressure after exclusion from the Betclic Élite, EuroLeague, and even second-tier Élite 2. The club aims to appeal to the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) by August 18 to regain professional status before the late-September season start.

This Andorran bid competes with an unresolved takeover effort since May, led by ex-NBA player Jamal Mashburn and Helen Holdings. Time constraints pose the biggest hurdle, with the CNOSF deadline leaving little room to finalize an alternative plan. No decisions have been reached on the competing offers.