CF Montréal owner Saputo puts club up for sale, says relocation is possible
The club says it will keep operating as usual while the process runs.
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CF Montréal owner Joey Saputo has launched a process to sell the club, ending more than three decades of family ownership of the Montreal franchise.
Saputo said Monday he would like the team to remain in Montreal, but he left the door open to relocation. "I would love for the club to stay here in Montreal, but if the club doesn't find a local buyer and I get an offer and the club needs to be relocated, then I have no choice and that's the decision I would take," he said at a news conference.
The club finished last in the Eastern Conference this season with six wins in 34 matches, the worst regular-season record in MLS. It also lost the Canadian Championship final to Forge FC. Supporters boycotted games late in the season while the team struggled on the field.
BMO Capital Markets will lead the sale, with National Bank of Canada as co-advisor, carried out with Major League Soccer. Any relocation would still require MLS approval. The club is operating as usual.
Saputo tied the club's future to the Olympic Stadium and to a bid to bring Canada Soccer's National Training Centre to Montreal, which he said his family would help secure with a substantial investment. If that succeeds, the centre could become the new home of CF Montréal and its academies.
The facts
Who is selling CF Montréal, and how long has the family owned the club?
Joey Saputo has launched a process to sell CF Montréal, which would end more than three decades of Saputo family ownership of the Montreal franchise.
What did Joey Saputo say about keeping CF Montréal in Montreal?
On Monday, November 9, 2
