Ligue 1 Daily Report - 2026-09-02

Folarin Balogun abandoned his proposed move from Monaco to Everton after an issue arose during his medical, according to UPI. Monaco and the Premier League club had reportedly agreed a fee of $52 million on Monday, and the United States international travelled to Everton on Tuesday to complete the transfer. The examination prompted renegotiation of the deal, but Balogun chose not to proceed and left Everton’s training ground without signing. The 25-year-old therefore remained with Monaco, where he scored 13 goals and supplied four assists in 30 Ligue 1 appearances during the 2025-26 campaign.

The collapse left Monaco without the major sale it had expected and kept one of Ligue 1’s leading forwards at the club after the transfer window closed. Balogun had also led the United States with three goals at the 2026 World Cup, increasing the attention around the proposed move. Monaco had begun the new league campaign with two victories and were due to face Paris Saint-Germain in their third fixture on Friday. His continued presence gives the club an established attacking option, while Everton must now proceed without a signing that had appeared close to completion before the medical raised concerns.

Lamine Camara’s proposed £47 million transfer from Monaco to Chelsea collapsed on deadline day after the Ligue 1 club withdrew its approval, according to reports carried by BBC Sport and Chelsea sources cited by Yahoo Sports Canada. Chelsea had already sanctioned Enzo Fernandez’s £125 million move to Manchester City and expected Camara to replace him in midfield. The 22-year-old Senegal international had reportedly completed his medical and was preparing to travel to London. Monaco’s decision followed renewed uncertainty around Balogun’s proposed move to Everton, with the French club reportedly preferring to complete that sale instead.

The late reversal triggered anger at Chelsea and criticism from Camara’s representative, former Premier League striker Diomansy Kamara. Chelsea had previously struggled to reach an agreement for the midfielder before the deal became achievable at £47 million when Balogun’s transfer appeared in doubt. Monaco then refused to release Camara even after Balogun’s move collapsed, leaving the player at the club and Chelsea without the replacement it had planned. The episode also exposed how closely Monaco’s two deadline-day negotiations had become linked, with one transfer effectively influencing the other until the window closed.

LFP Media announced new international broadcasting agreements covering Ligue 1 during the 2026-27 season. The league said its competition would be available in 215 territories through 53 broadcast partners and in 44 languages. In India, JioStar’s JioHotStar platform will show at least four Ligue 1 matches from every matchday, with selected fixtures also available on the Star Sports network. Indonesian media group Emtek will carry full matches on Vidio, while Sky will show highlights in the United Kingdom and Ireland alongside the Ligue 1+ platform. DAZN will transmit the full season in Spain, with highlights of all matches also available.

The agreements form part of LFP Media’s effort to broaden Ligue 1’s international reach, particularly in major digital markets. JioStar combines a large streaming operation with an established television network, giving French top-flight clubs exposure across both platforms in India. Emtek’s Vidio service provides a comparable route into Indonesia, while the UK and Spanish arrangements add established rights partners in important European territories. LFP Media presented the distribution network as evidence that Ligue 1 had developed into a global competition, with access expanding beyond its domestic audience ahead of the new campaign.

Paul Pogba left Monaco by mutual agreement, according to Khel Now, bringing his short spell with the Ligue 1 club to an end. The 33-year-old made six appearances after joining Monaco in 2025, but struggled to establish regular involvement during the 2025-26 season. The report said Pogba had also sustained a hamstring injury while training at St George’s Park, an issue expected to keep him out for several months. His departure followed a period in which the former France international had been attempting to rebuild his career after returning from an 18-month doping suspension.

Pogba’s exit ended a partnership that had produced limited playing time despite his considerable experience with Juventus, Manchester United and France. Monaco had used him sparingly, and the fresh injury further complicated his prospects of returning to consistent top-level football. The midfielder now enters the next stage of his career as a free agent, with a move to Major League Soccer among the possibilities discussed by Khel Now. Any new club would be assessing both his pedigree and whether he can recover sufficiently to contribute after an extended period of disrupted fitness.

Mehdi Benatia joined Canal+ as a television consultant after leaving his role as Marseille’s football director at the end of June, according to Morocco World News, citing L’Équipe. The 39-year-old former Morocco international spent a season and a half in Marseille’s sporting department, working primarily alongside club president Pablo Longoria. Marseille finished second in Ligue 1 in 2024-25 and fifth the following season during Benatia’s time at the club. Grégory Lorenzi subsequently took over as the club’s football director.

The appointment represents Benatia’s first television role and moves him from daily sporting administration into football analysis. His playing career included spells with Udinese, Roma, Bayern Munich and Juventus, while he won 66 caps for Morocco. Canal+ has continued to expand its group of football consultants, with former Morocco head coach Walid Regragui also reported to be joining the broadcaster. Benatia’s experience inside Marseille’s sporting structure and as a former elite defender gives the network a recently involved Ligue 1 voice as the new season develops.

Lille completed the signing of Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda for €15 million on a four-year contract, according to Yahoo Sports Canada. The Japan international moved to Ligue 1 after finishing as the Eredivisie’s leading scorer. His transfer was highlighted as one of the major moves involving Asian players during the 2026 summer window, alongside Zion Suzuki’s move to Aston Villa and Lee Kang-in’s departure from Paris Saint-Germain for Atlético Madrid. Ueda’s arrival gives Lille a forward who comes to France after producing at the top end of the Dutch league.

The deal underlined Lille’s role in attracting established international talent and added a Japanese striker to Ligue 1’s growing Asian presence. Ueda’s four-year commitment also gives the club a longer-term attacking investment rather than a short-term arrangement. His scoring record in the Netherlands will create expectations, but the move also represents a new adaptation challenge as he enters French football. Lille will now look to integrate him into their squad and translate his Eredivisie production into goals in a more physically demanding domestic competition.