More important, at Karlsen’s instigation, Rybolovlev established contacts with Jorge Mendes, the most influential agent in the sport. The relationship would prove crucial when Monaco was promoted, in 2013, and promptly signed three of the most expensive players in French league history: Rodríguez, Falcao and João Moutinho, all Mendes players, among several others.

Monaco seemed the most potent of European soccer’s cadre of arriviste clubs, doubling down on the pattern set by Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris St.-Germain. Four years on, though, only echoes of that era remain: Moutinho and Falcao, who returned last year, will both be in Manchester this week. The club around them is almost the polar opposite to the one they joined.

Jardim’s team is built around young talent; Vasilyev declares with pride that Monaco is self-financing and sustainable. Karlsen said Rybolovlev was always “interested in buying players of a certain age, from certain places, to find out if we could benefit from the transfer market,” even when he was purchasing stars. Now it is those players — the promising and the hungry — who are Monaco’s sole focus.

The result has been eye-catching. Monaco is in the knockout stages of the Champions League and, more impressive, atop Ligue 1, which many had expected to be a cakewalk for Paris St.-Germain. Monaco is enjoying rather more success as a hothouse for talent than it did as a retreat for stars.

And yet, as Vasilyev said, that change was “not really part of the plan.” Monaco always intended to change, but “not so quickly,” he said.