Luca Saputo vows to improve CF Montréal as sale process begins

Luca Saputo says his family's move to sell CF Montréal has brought back a flood of memories. His father, Joey Saputo, announced on Monday that he was putting the Major League Soccer franchise up for sale. The club was valued at US$440 million by Forbes in February. Joey Saputo said he would prefer to keep the team in Montreal but made clear it could relocate if a suitable local buyer does not emerge.

"It's very emotional. The club has been a part of my life since I was born," said Luca Saputo, the team's managing director of recruitment and sporting methodology, on Wednesday. "The club and I are like brothers. We grew up together, literally." He said he had a flashback of images from Stade Claude-Robillard and Stade Saputo. Until a sale is completed, the Saputo family will continue to run the team, with Luca and his brother, Simone, keeping their senior roles.

Luca Saputo would not discuss the family's private sale discussions. He said his goal is to improve the team after it finished last in the Eastern Conference with six wins, 20 losses and eight draws, its worst season since joining MLS in 2012. "It would be extremely sad to see [the club] leave, but I'm really not thinking about that," he said from the MLS board of governors meetings in Florida. He added that his focus is on his daily work to raise the team and that preparations for next season are underway.

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The club faces significant challenges, starting with the need for a new head coach. Saputo announced that interim manager Philippe Eullaffroy, who replaced Marco Donadel in April, will change roles and not return as first-team coach next season. There is also the question of attracting players while the club is for sale. Saputo pointed to the Vancouver Whitecaps signing Thomas Müller under similar circumstances. "Just because a club is for sale, it doesn't mean we can't have success or have great players," Saputo said.

Montreal's 2027 MLS sprint season schedule is challenging, with only six of 14 games at Stade Saputo. The campaign opens Feb. 21 at Charlotte, starting a six-game road stretch that includes a neutral-site match against D.C. United in Miami. Future schedule challenges loom as MLS transitions to a winter calendar for 2027-28. Stade Saputo is not winterized, and renovations at Olympic Stadium are years away from completion.

Monday's announcement made Montreal the second Canadian MLS team on the market, joining the Vancouver Whitecaps. Despite recent on-field struggles, the club has developed Canadian talent. Six members of last summer's World Cup roster came through Montreal's system: Maxime Crépeau, Alistair Johnston, Joel Waterman, Mathieu Choinière, Ismaël Koné and Nathan Saliba. CF Montréal has also helped subsidize the contract of Canadian men's national team coach Jesse Marsch.

Even rival captain Jonathan Osorio of Toronto FC said he would hate to see the team relocate. "We don't really like each other, but at the same time I think it would be a shame if it was sold to somebody that took the team out of Montreal," Osorio told reporters Tuesday. "It would be a shame for Canadian soccer." Canada Soccer spokesperson Paulo Senra said the Saputo family has played an enormous role in soccer growth in Canada and the organization strongly supports keeping the club in Montreal. Potential local buyers are being speculated about, including Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson. "For the moment I don't have a lot to say on the subject, besides that we'll have to look at it," Molson said Monday. Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said Tuesday the provincial government would not subsidize the club but did not rule out other forms of help, noting he had not seen a proposal.

With files from The Globe and Mail and Sportsnet