Aston Villa: The key questions answered with Monchi replaced by Roberto Olabe as president of football operations
Sky Sports News' Rob Jones answers the key questions with Monchi leaving Aston Villa; president of football operations' departure comes after just over two years at Villa Park; Unai Emery's side are in the Premier League relegation zone
Wednesday 24 September 2025 14:25, UK
Monchi has left his role as Aston Villa president of football operations - but why now and what does it mean for the club going forward?
The 57-year-old had been at the club for just over two years but has now moved into an advisory role with Villa's parent company V Sports, with Roberto Olabe replacing him as president of football operations.
Monchi's work helped steer Villa into last season's Champions League, although they narrowly missed out on returning this campaign having finished sixth in the Premier League.
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But has Villa's poor form at the start of the season influenced the decision? And what might Monchi's departure mean for Emery?
Sky Sports News' Rob Jones answers the key questions...
Why is Monchi leaving Aston Villa now?
All is not well at Aston Villa at the moment - both on the pitch and off it. The team that beat eventual European champions Paris Saint-Germain in mid-April and the good feeling that accompanied it now feels light years away.
Maybe something or someone had to give at the start of a season that has seen Villa collect just three points from five fairly-favourable fixtures, and sitting in the bottom three - and maybe Monchi was that person.
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Whilst he and the club have been quite clearly hampered by financial restrictions, there have also been questions over his recruitment hit-rate.
It would be speculation to discuss Monchi's relationship with Unai Emery but there is no doubt that the latter became an increasingly frustrated figure towards the end of the summer window, as Villa failed to make significant progress in reshaping their squad until three late signings on deadline day.
Ultimately, Monchi landed Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliot on loan, and Victor Lindelof on a free transfer.
Have Villa's PSR struggles influenced the decision?
PSR and also UEFA's financial rules have played a massive role in the way the club have been forced to operate over the course of the summer; part of their agreement with UEFA to avoid a further fine was to make a profit on player sales.
Villa had to sell homegrown star Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle and were always aware that they could not invest all of the money made from that sale back into new signings.
Some money was spent on Evann Guessand from Nice but the rest, as stated, were loans, a free transfer and a nominal fee for Marco Bizot.
Villa knew that failing to comply with UEFA rules could ultimately lead to being thrown out of European competition and they are also naturally aware that Everton and Nottingham Forest have been deducted Premier League points for their PSR breaches.
Whether PSR is overly restrictive for clubs with ambition is open for debate, and Villa and also Newcastle would certainly argue that case. Their owners have the finances and they have the ambition, but cannot exploit either to their full potential.
Was Monchi a success at Villa?
The simplistic argument would be that Villa have achieved a top-four finish, a Champions League quarter-final and an FA Cup semi-final during Monchi's time with the club - but that would be reductive.
Emery has been in charge on the field and recruitment was arguably the most significant part of Monchi's role, and signings-wise - in recent windows - it has been a mixed bag at best.
Morgan Rogers, up until recently at least, has been excellent, as has Youri Tielemans on a free transfer, but others have not had such an impact.
Take the defence for example; the same quartet - Lucas Digne, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash - started Villa's 2-2 draw with Manchester United in January 2022 as the 1-1 draw at Sunderland on Sunday.
Increasingly, it has felt as if Villa are making signings entirely for the here and now, that all the chips in January were slung on Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio firing them back into the Champions League, which did not happen - and the financial consequences have been clear.
What does Monchi's departure mean for Emery?
Since he arrived in October 2022 it is worth remembering that Emery has totally transformed Villa from a team that were underperforming markedly under Steven Gerrard.
Emery was given the opportunity to sculpt the football department to his liking, including Monchi and director of football operations Damian Vidagany, along with his backroom staff. The fact he remains in post maybe reinforces the power he holds within the club.
But whilst the players should shoulder some of the blame for Villa's awful start to the season, maybe Emery does too. Have Villa become predictable in their build up? Have they been worked out? Should a manager be calling his players out so early in a season?
Emery is not the first manager to be confronted with creating a second successful era at a club but that is the task that currently appears to be sitting in front of him.
What's been behind Villa's on-pitch struggles so far this season?
Villa's players seem to have not yet recovered from the disappointing end to last season, where even a draw against Manchester United on the final day would have been enough to secure a return to the Champions League. Instead, they were deservedly beaten by a United team fresh off a Europa League final defeat a few days earlier.
Senior players including captain John McGinn and Ezri Konsa have also spoken in interviews recently about the unfairness of PSR and how the club have been held back by financial restrictions.
Emery's early march down the tunnel on Sunday and his post-match accusations that his players were lazy and lacked identity does not look good just five games into a new Premier League season.
There is a sterility to Villa this season, particularly in attack. Rogers and Ollie Watkins, a pair of England internationals with a World Cup place to secure, look shadows of their best at present.
Emery will hope that once Elliott and Sancho are up to speed they will provide a little impetus for a side that has mustered just one goal in five Premier League games.
