(Montreal) The love story between el Romántico and CF Montreal is not over, but it is going through a troubled period. The rose, however, seems already stripped, because Olivier Renard has thorns all over his fingers.
During the mid-season review held late Thursday morning, the Impact’s vice-president and chief sports officer took the liberty of offering some advice to his leading striker Romell Quioto, who is on his last contract year. The Honduran has been sidelined since May 13 with an injury. In fact, he has only appeared in seven games this season.
Since his long-term hamstring injury, he has not been seen in training or at Stade Saputo, as he is being treated outside the country. At least in theory. Renard explained that he accepted her request to recover elsewhere, as the injuries can “sometimes, even often, be mental.”
Is this elsewhere Miami, where he was recently sighted? “He’s going around the world a bit there,” Renard replied of the Bleu-blanc-noir’s second earner and the club’s top scorer in the last three campaigns.
“I’m going to speak to you honestly, and not as a sports director. I advise him to do the best he can to get back to 100% as soon as possible,” he said.
The message has the merit of being clear. The ball is in Quioto’s court.
First, Renard explained that he did not want to comment on the rumor that his former Belgian national teammate Eden Hazard had been courted by the Montreal club. On another question, he clarified that there was “zero contact” between the clans.
Last month, Spanish outlet Marca linked the Real Madrid player’s name to the Bleu-blanc-noir, except that at that time he was under contract with Los Blancos. The former Chelsea winger has since been released and is now a free agent.
“I think he’s going to take the time to look at what he wants to do,” Renard said. I can’t speak for him, and even afterwards, if he wants to continue playing football, there are certainly a lot of people who will call him to offer him something.
“I think he wants to put his head right with his family. »
This summed up Olivier Renard’s objective for the next transfer window, which will start on July 5 and end on August 2.
While he doesn’t want to discuss which positions he will target to avoid putting “unnecessary pressure” on any given player, Renard confirmed that he has general allocation money in his pocket and that he could make purchases. this summer. However, be careful, since his hands are already tied.
“It’s mainly in relation to the number of the squad: there is a maximum number of 30 players under contract. We have 31 if we include Rida [Zouhir] who we loaned, which freed up a place. That’s more the problem. You have to look at how many players there are under contract, rather than the available space [the money] that the owner gives us or the GAM.
“I am very happy with what I am given. It’s up to me to grow the team. »
He also mentioned that it was quite possible to see one or two players leave the club on loan during the next transfer window.
