The billionaire owner of Monaco has denied reports that he could quit amid claims he is looking to sell the club.
Dmitri Rybolovlev told newspaper Monaco Matin that he would continue to back the principality outfit and said he had no choice but to allow James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao to leave last summer.
Reports suggested their departures were indications that the Russian was losing interest, but he said: "Absolutely not -- I love this club.
"We have a project and we're applying it. Our results are good and we'll continue to improve, I'm convinced of that.
"Today, we're among the eight best European teams [in the Champions League quarterfinals]. That's proof that we've done good work and that the investments were necessary. But they aren't everything. Look at certain other European clubs whose budget is much larger than ours."
Asked about the summer's high-profile departures, Rybolovlev said both players' determination to leave the Stade Louis II had given him little choice.
James, 23, joined Real Madrid after the World Cup in a transfer that brought Monaco an estimated €35 million profit on the Colombia international while Falcao, 29, moved to Manchester United on loan.
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Their moves left some pundits fearing that last season's Ligue 1 runners-up would struggle, but they are in contention for a top-three finish and in the last eight of European football's premier club competition despite a slow start.
Rybolovlev said UEFA's financial fair play regulations had also meant the moves had to go ahead, explaining: "We're being asked to move towards financial equilibrium, so we can't just do any old thing.
"When a player gets an offer from a club he wants to join, his club sometimes has to accept the will of the player. That's why we sold a great player and allowed another one to leave on loan.
"So all the factors inevitably lead to a certain re-dimensioning of the project. Nevertheless, recent results show that the chosen strategy is bearing fruit despite all the external constraints."
Rybolovlev took over in December 2011 with Monaco in Ligue 2.