Long-time CF Montreal owner announces he plans to sell MLS team

CF Montreal is on the market, with long-time owner Joey Saputo announcing Monday, Nov. 9 that his family plans to sell the Major League Soccer club, ideally to a buyer that will keep the team in Montreal.One of three MLS teams in Canada, Montreal has won four Canadian Championships since joining MLS in 2012. From 1993-2001, the team then known as the Montreal Impact played in the United States' second-division league, mostly known as the A-League during that period.This year was a particularly difficult season for the club, which finished dead last in MLS play and also fell to second-division Forge FC in the final of the Canadian Championship cup tournament. It has made the playoffs just four times in 14 seasons and has never made the MLS Cup final.Saputo, who also owns Bologna FC in Italy's Serie A, called the decision one of the most difficult he has made in his life but said "we believe this is the appropriate time to begin the process of identifying new ownership for CF Montreal."Because of its colder climate, Montreal is one of the teams expected to be most affected by MLS' switch from starting its regular season in the winter and playing through the fall to the new model which will see the regular season begin in the summer and the playoffs in the spring.Montreal currently plays in the outdoor 19,619-capacity Stade Saputo, a stone's throw from the Olympic Stadium. The latter facility is undergoing a renovation project including a roof replacement and modernization of the concourses that local officials hope will see events return to "The Big O" in 2028.View this post on Instagram"This decision is neither driven by urgency nor dictated by circumstance," Saputo said. At times, CF Montreal has leveraged its unique market to its advantage, signing splashy French-speakers like Didier Drogba as a forward and Thierry Henry as manager and also bringing in Italian imports including Marco Di Vaio and Alessandro Nesta.But Montreal also has lost out on many of the talented players being developed in Quebec, with players like Canada center back Moïse Bombito going through the U.S. college system or others jumping directly to Europe rather than play with the local MLS team.Who could buy CF Montreal? Geoff Molson, who owns the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, was asked last week if he would be interested in buying the club and said that while there were not discussions underway that his group would be open to evaluating it were Saputo to sell.Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, who founded the digital media company WatchMojo, posted an open letter to Saputo on social media last week saying, if the owner would "consider passing the torch under the right circumstances, let's find out what those circumstances are."MLS has enjoyed a period of rapid growth in recent years, seeing expansion franchise fees grow from the $40 million it asked from Saputo in 2012 to $500 million San Diego FC paid to get into the league in 2025.Sporting Kansas City minority owner Peter Mallouk purchased a majority share in SKC earlier this year for a record $700 million valuation. The Miller family purchase Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals in 2025 in a deal reportedly valued at $600 million for both clubs and their facilities.But MLS club ownership has not always been an upward curve on the spreadsheet. Montreal's fellow Canadians, the Vancouver Whitecaps, have an uncertain future with the team up for sale and struggling to find a stadium solution that allows it to make as much as its rivals when it comes to matchday revenue.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Long-time CF Montreal owner announces he plans to sell MLS team