“Don’t forget that my famous phrase: ‘If you want to see stars go somewhere else’, was preceded by: ‘People come here for a team’. »
These are the words of Olivier Renard, vice-president and chief sports officer of CF Montreal. Those who wanted a paradigm shift in the philosophy of the big man of the Impact’s sports project will have to pass, because the Belgian is stubbornly sticking to his game plan. And this despite the six games he deemed “catastrophic”.
So forget the arrival of a legendary goalscorer in decline, because it won’t be anytime soon.
As soon as he took office, Renard laid the groundwork for his plan by acquiring young players. His strategy particularly paid off last year when he was able to sell Alistair Johnston, Ismaël Koné and Djordje Mihailovic for several million dollars in addition to having a successful season.
It was with this new cycle in mind that he acquired Bryce Duke—and Ariel Lassiter—from Inter Miami in return for Canadian center back Kamal Miller and $1.3 million in up-front. general allowance (GAM). An agreement that comes after months of negotiations and preparation, he said Thursday morning to the Montreal media.
And to prove his point, Renard mentioned making an initial offer for Duke two or three months ago that was turned down. Seeing the lack of success currently in the position of attacking midfielder, he returned to the charge.
It was also in the cards for Inter Miami to acquire Miller for a while according to Renard. However, sending him back to Florida is a last resort solution for the CFM’s chief sports officer since no offer has come from Europe for Miller.
Just over a year ago, Inter Miami snapped up Duke for $100,000 in MAG. Barely a year later, the Bleu-blanc-noir loosened its purse strings by sending Miller, a well-established defenseman in the circuit and 1.3 million in MAG to make his acquisition.
With this observation, difficult to see Miami as a loser. And yet.
The Impact acquired Mihailovic, a product of the Chicago Fire academy for 1 million in MAG. Johnston cost Nasville SC nothing as he came out of the draft. It was sold in Montreal for 1 million in GAM. Ditto for Miller, an Orlando City draft pick, who was traded to Bleu-blanc-noir for $225,000 GAM.
Renard explained that while the other clubs thought they would win the deal initially, ultimately it was CF Montreal that made the most profit from the players in question.
“Didn’t they lose the deal?” he launched.
While Renard retained a percentage of potential resale in Miller’s case—more than 25%—he was also keen to set the record straight as to his true value: “Zimmerman, the best defender in the circuit last year, is worth 1 million GAM. So you can believe that Kamal’s value is not far from that.”
Renard hopes that the Duke transaction will follow the same line of smoke-and-deals and that it will be the first milestone in this new cycle.
Before the press scrum, Olivier Renard gave a speech in which he praised the Saputo family. He says he accepts criticisms that concern him or the owner of the CFM, but that according to him, a few people have exceeded the limits in the criticisms. People who “use the microphone like a gun”.
“I’ve been a professional for 28 years, either as a player or manager. Having criticism is normal. If you are not able to take them, you have no place in the world of sport. But there are some people who denigrate the club, who cross the line of respect. That’s my own opinion.
“When I see what is written or said about the Saputo family, you don’t realize how lucky the town is to have a family like the Saputo’s. I would like to have a Saputo family in my city in Belgium. A family that invests as much in professional as local soccer and accepts to lose money every year. »
