Both clubs had signed. The paperwork was done. Folarin Balogun just wouldn't put pen to paper — and Monaco's deadline day descended into chaos.
AS Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro gave a forensic breakdown of how the 25-year-old USMNT striker's move to Everton collapsed on Tuesday night, a deal that had seemingly crossed every hurdle only for Balogun himself to walk away with five minutes left on the clock.
What actually went wrong
The deal unravelled during Balogun's medical. Around 7pm, Everton raised concerns with Monaco's staff — concerns that, per Scuro, "made no sense at all" to either side's medical teams. Everton spent two to three hours consulting additional specialists, which is standard procedure when club doctors flag something. By the time they cleared Balogun fit, the window was nearly shut.
The Premier League's emergency extension mechanism bought one extra hour. Monaco signed the contract. Everton signed the contract. Then Balogun didn't.
His reasoning, as relayed by Scuro: the way Monaco had treated him during the process left him uncomfortable, and Everton's medical scrutiny had shaken him enough that he didn't want to commit to a long-term deal. "I have nothing," Scuro quoted the player as saying, "so I'm not comfortable signing a long contract here."
That's a significant distinction. Balogun wasn't walking away from Everton specifically — he was walking away from the whole situation. Whether that's a principled stand or a negotiating position that will resurface in another market before Thursday's close elsewhere in Europe is the question Monaco are now sitting with.
The Camara chaos that followed
The Balogun saga didn't happen in isolation. Monaco, needing to satisfy French football's financial watchdog (the DNCG), had also agreed to sell Lamine Camara to Chelsea — who were scrambling for midfield cover after Enzo Fernandez moved to Manchester City for $169.1 million. When Everton cleared Balogun's medical, Monaco called off the Camara sale. Then Balogun pulled out anyway.
The result: Monaco kept Camara, lost the Balogun fee, and Scuro was in the office until 3am trying to piece together a window that had collapsed around him. "It's the first time in my career that I saw a last day like this," he admitted.
Balogun has scored 31 goals in 91 Monaco appearances since arriving from Arsenal in 2023, including 19 last season. He has value. But with two years left on his deal and the club actively planning for his exit — they lined up a replacement in advance and dropped him from matchday squads — the relationship has clearly soured.
Monaco say they're still in contact with Balogun and other markets remain open before Thursday. Everton, meanwhile, go into the new season without the striker they'd planned their attack around. Their forward line odds just got a lot less appealing.
"We are still waiting for 'Balo' to come back for us to sit and discuss and to realize between us what's next," Scuro said. That's a polite way of saying: nobody knows where this goes from here.
