There is never an alpha without an omega. Kei Kamara went from being one of CF Montreal’s most adored players to being constantly castigated in public by club officials.
And that’s how the striker’s career ended in Montreal: in a sweet mix of discord and hearsay. The club traded Kamara to the Chicago Fire for a minimum $250,000 general allowance on Friday, the day before the season kicks off. The return could amount to $400,000 with performance bonuses.
“The club’s wish was not only to have him for the 2023 season, but while offering him a multi-year project,” said CF Montreal vice-president and chief sports officer Olivier Renard in a press release. . We wanted him to be happy and to settle in Montreal with his family. We finally reached an agreement for an exchange. We wish him good luck for the rest of his career. »
Hired in February 2022, when the club had already started its Champions League season, Kamara quickly established himself as an important cog in the team in spite of himself. His attacking counterparts being undermined by injuries, he was able to pull out of the game and prove to be a very important soldier for Wilfried Nancy.
He took part in 32 of 34 regular season games, where he notably vibrated the strings nine times while obtaining seven assists. He also started for both playoff games.
At the end of this season crowned with collective and personal success, Kamara finished second in the title of “returner of the year” in MLS.
End of the year 2022. All that will follow is the tragedy-like serial novel.
Then a free agent, Kamara had agreed with the Montreal eleven on the terms of a one-year contract with an optional year. In his first season with the club, Kamara earned $94,000. A bargain, especially compared to his salary with Minnesota United in 2020 where he pocketed $ 750,000.
The club is therefore activating its option for the new campaign.
Then, in the middle of the first week of training camp – from which he was then absent – he tweeted a request for the CFM to trade him. Eventually, he rejoins the group after failing a second time.
“He has already lost a week of work […] and today he is not here. Frankly, I’m disappointed,” admitted Bleu-blanc-noir head coach Hernán Losada.
According to Kamara, before the playoffs, he told CF Montreal officials that he wanted to retire in Montreal. Despite the fact that he was already under contract, they made him a two-year offer which, according to the player, “was not enough” to allow him to move to Quebec with his family. The CFM also offered him an opportunity to become a coach with the Academy after the said contract.
Kamara continues with a counter-offer, but it is refused. The initial offer is “take it or leave it”.
Meanwhile, the CFM bails out its bank of attackers. The club acquired Quebecer Jules-Anthony Vilsaint while Chinonso Offor returned from his loan from the Belgian championship. Like Kamara, both rookies are 6’3″ despite having a different profile.
The more the season approached, the more there was a vagueness concerning the Kamara file. Was he going to play? Was he going to be left out? No one really knew.
Asked to comment on why he left out Kamara for a pre-season game, Losada said he had “no updates” on him and was jaded to talk about the Sierra Leone forward’s situation.
“It’s my fifth or sixth press conference with the team, and I know he’s an important player, but I think it’s a bit of abuse to ask me about him every time. “, he had launched.
Then the outcome was known the day before the first CFM duel of the season.
On the morning of the trade, Renard mentioned on BPM Sports that Kamara would have raised his voice and disrespected Vassili Cremanzidis, his deputy, during the negotiation of the new contract.
Renard added that “having defended the club” and that keeping a firm stance by refusing to release Kamara allowed the team to avoid encouraging other players to repeat the tactic.
The transaction was announced a few hours later.
The 38-year-old veteran therefore takes back his backpack and will wear the colors of a 10e team in MLS.