MONCHI, IN THE FIFA MAGAZINE: "WE ARE ENVISAGING VARIOUS SCENARIOS AFTER THE PANDEMIC"

The General Sporting Director of Sevilla FC, Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, Monchi, has featured in the newest edition of the FIFA Magazine, the most important body in football, and analysed what the Covid-19 pandemic will mean for football and the transfer market in the coming months.

Monchi, who shared top billing alongside Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, Víctor Montagliani, President of CONCACAF, Andrea Radrizzani, owner of Leeds United and Arsène Wenger, ex-manager of Arsenal, assured that "Most clubs’ future plans are currently on hold; we are envisaging various scenarios and making plans based on each of them".

"If competitions that have already started can be completed, the negative repercussions will be less serious"

The General Sporting Director did not deny that what has happened on a world scale will have consequences: "It will of course have consequences on transfers, and their extent will depend on how long the general uncertainty caused by the pandemic lasts. If the competitions that have already started can be completed smoothly and the outlook for next season is good, the negative repercussions will be less serious".

"I’m afraid I am not in a position to draw any conclusions about COVID-19 just yet", affirmed Monchi, about the economic consequences for clubs, adding that "currently, we need to think about the present rather than the future. Right now, patience is key so as to avoid making rash and wrong decisions".

"We need to think about the present rather than the future"

Monchi also explained to FIFA the huge changes that his job has gone through since the lockdown: "To be honest, the pandemic has had an enormous impact on my daily activities. I had to completely rethink my way of working. For quite a while, we were constantly on video calls and our conversations were sometimes not related to sport. Terms such as “[Microsoft] Teams”, “Zoom”, “furlough”, “COVID-19” and “pandemic” became part of my life and changed everything". 

"Initially, the consequences were huge. It changed all our lives and we had to work with the players continuously to ensure that the team would not be affected psychologically. During lockdown, being in close contact with the players and their families helped us get through the worst period in the best way possible", added Monchi regarding the immediate effects of Covid-19.