Josef Martínez wants to monetize his end of season. CF Montreal is not keen on the idea of raising its salary. The divorce isn’t official yet, but it feels like it’s imminent.
Posted at 9:45 a.m.
Updated at 10:29 a.m.
According to Tom Bogert of GiveMeSport, the CFM would have declined the option on the Venezuelan’s contract, after negotiations aimed at extending the agreement linking him to the club.
According to our information, with the end of the season that he experienced, Martínez wanted to obtain more than just the option year. It would have been necessary to negotiate a new upward agreement for him. This alternative was hardly possible for the CFM. At 31 years old, Josef Martínez has a serious injury history. He would also have been a difficult player to manage at times. This aspect of his personality was known to the CFM before he was acquired last winter, and it was confirmed throughout his season under Laurent Courtois.
On the other hand, a source interviewed by The Press tells us that Martínez’s professionalism and competitive spirit were appreciated by his teammates in the locker room.
Martínez missed around ten games in 2024 due to a knee problem suffered in training. He went under the knife for an arthroscopy in 2022, surgery which followed a serious rupture of the cruciate ligament in 2020. Since this injury, the former unstoppable Atlanta United gunner has not been the same athlete.
For all these reasons, a potential return of the club’s MVP in 2024 was a consideration, we were told.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Josef Martínez
And this, even if no member of the Montreal squad has the talent or the resume to replace a player of Martínez’s caliber. The Venezuelan has scored 13 goals in MLS this year, including the playoffs. This is the highest total among his team. It was thanks to him – and the duo he completed with Caden Clark – that the team was able to qualify for the preliminary match of the playoffs. His two goals against Atlanta in this match allowed the CFM to recover and force the shootout. He also scored his shot penalty during the session.
He pulled the team up when they needed it most, it’s true. But if Montreal took advantage of it, the organization obviously does not want to live again with the question marks that remain.
Now, with Martínez unofficially leaving, we are assured that the club will be looking for a striker to replace him. Will also go with him his salary of 1.3 million (figures from the MLS Players Association).
This money should be reinvested in a new player whose profile will fit more with the Impact’s sporting philosophy, we are told.
MLS teams have until November 27 to make their decisions and announce which players will see their options activated for 2025 or not. Joel Waterman (1 year option), Nathan Saliba (2 years), Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (1 year), Raheem Edwards (1 year), Jules-Anthony Vilsaint (2 years) and Lassi Lappalainen (1 year) are the other team members whose decisions are expected to this effect.
