MONTREAL — CF Montreal won’t turn into an MLS Cup contender in a single transfer window, but club management believes it has taken a step in the right direction.
When executives Gabriel Gervais, Luca Saputo and Simone Saputo released an open letter to fans announcing the start of a rebuild in July, they wrote that “trust is regained through actions.”
That made Montreal’s summer transfer window highly anticipated among supporters.
One month and five signings later, Luca Saputo said he was pleased with what his staff accomplished in laying the groundwork for this changing of the guard.
“I’m very satisfied with the work we did. That’s seven departures and five arrivals. We can see the process is well underway, not only on the field but off it as well,” said the club’s senior director of recruitment and sporting methodology on Friday at Stade Saputo. “We want to set clear standards for the club because I think we deserve that.”
Montreal began its shopping spree by acquiring goalkeeper Thomas Gillier. Defender Efrain Morales, midfielder Matty Longstaff, defender Bode Hidalgo and attacking midfielder Ivan Jaime followed.
Jaime, in fact, was the marquee signing of the club’s transfer window.
The 24-year-old from Spain arrived from FC Porto on loan with an option to buy and will be Montreal’s second designated player, joining striker Giacomo Vrioni.
Facing lofty expectations, Jaime has become something of a centrepiece in the rebuild, aimed at turning Montreal back into a winning side. A piece that, perhaps, had been missing recently both on and off the pitch.
“Rebuilding means having people who are ready to fight for the club, for the city and for the province,” Saputo said. “Since I’ve been back here, I’ve sometimes seen a team that wasn’t fighting, and I’ve seen players who were only playing for themselves.”
Jaime’s loan will run until June 30, 2026. Should the move become permanent, the 24-year-old would be under contract in Montreal until Dec. 31, 2027, with option years in 2028 and 2029.
Saputo said negotiations began at the end of July and that Jaime — already long known to CF Montreal and Bologna FC’s executives — saw a project that could help him develop.
“Ivan is an impact player who takes us to another level,” said Saputo. “We believe in him a lot, and I think with his qualities, he can take advantage of the space this league offers to attacking players. It’s a win-win deal.”
Much has been said about CF Montreal’s plan of bringing in promising young players or those in difficult situations, giving them playing time to develop, and then selling them for a profit.
Saputo emphasized this goal hasn’t been abandoned, but that it will now be paired with a clearer sporting philosophy.
“Player development is part of our philosophy, but it’s not the only thing we want to do,” he said. “We don’t want to just be a development club, and that hasn’t always been clear.”
Montreal recently reaped the benefits of its development model when it sold midfielder Nathan Saliba to Belgium and defender George Campbell to England last month.
The club received significant transfer fees in those deals, and Saputo said that money will be entirely reinvested into the club — contrary to the popular belief that it would remain in the owners’ pockets.
“We’ve always reinvested the money, even after our 2022 window,” he said. “We traded players and made transfers that brought in money, and we’ll fully reinvest it in the squad. We didn’t spend it right away because we want to do things properly.”
Despite the growing optimism surrounding Montreal’s rebuild, director of soccer Corey Wray abruptly resigned last week. Some pointed to a difference in vision, others to a role that had shifted. Saputo would only say he was no longer the right person to support management.
“It was clear he was becoming less and less involved,” he said. “We’re not looking to replace him at the moment.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2025.
Simon Servant, The Canadian Press
