Nigerian Michael Emenalo has been appointed sporting director of Monaco, less than a month after his surprise decision to quit Chelsea.
The 52-year-old, who played for the Super Eagles at the 1994 World Cup, will take charge of “all sport matters”, the Ligue 1 side said.
Emenalo joined Chelsea in 2007 and worked in both scouting and coaching departments before being promoted to technical director in 2011.
The Blues publicly claimed he wanted to spend more time with his family after 10 years at Stamford Bridge, but he has returned to work just three weeks later.
Chelsea are yet to make a decision on Emenalo’s replacement and whether or not they will appoint a new technical director, or split his responsibilities across a number of roles.
Director Marina Granovskaia has taken on much of the work Emenalo left behind as her influence at Chelsea continues to grow.
On his new job, Emenalo said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for me in a high quality project.
“AS Monaco has shown great progress for several seasons and I am convinced that the future will be just as ambitious.
“Vadim Vasilyev’s willingness to see me join AS Monaco was decisive and for me, the choice was natural after my decision to leave Chelsea.
“I will work here with humility and try my best to bring my experience in this club which is a reference of French and European football.”
Monaco vice-president, Vasilyev added: “I have been following Michael Emenalo’s work for a long time and I am very happy to have him here after he chose to quit Chelsea.
“His know-how in the scouting network, as well as the technical skills he developed working in one of the most successful clubs in the world in the past few years, are the main reasons leading us to present him our ambitious challenge.
“Through this appointment, it is a further sign that we are ambitious and competitive in our model.”
