'Everyone loves Mathieu," CF Montréal coach says about Choinière's reported trade request
The club and its all-star midfielder who hails from Quebec appear to be at odds over contract extension talks.
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On the one side you have a Quebec player who is one of the stars of his childhood club. On the other, you have a team seeking to keep that player at a reasonable price.
The bombshell dropped on Wednesday, when The Athletic’s Tom Bogert posted on X (formerly Twitter) that CF Montréal midfielder Mathieu Choinière had reportedly asked for a trade.
That was all it took for speculation to run amok. Is Choinière happy in Montreal? Does he want to stay with the bleu-blanc-noir? Does he get on well with his teammates and coaches?
Without having spoken to Olivier Renard, CF Montréal’s vice-president and chief sports officer, head coach Laurent Courtois used his best version of the “rope-a-dope” on Friday, before his team’s training session at the Nutrilait Centre.
Courtois tried to answer the questions surrounding the situation as honestly as possible, but might have said too much when questioned by La Presse’s Jean-François Téotonio.
“Everyone loves Mathieu, everyone wants him to be valued and everyone wants him to stay here. He doesn’t (want to leave) … Voilà, you want me to say something stupid and I’m going to say it!” Courtois quipped, seeing that he’d probably just been caught out.
The coach’s words suggested this stalemate is simply part of usual contract negotiations in the sports world.
With CF Montréal since 2018, Choinière blossomed during Wilfried Nancy’s two years as the team’s head coach in 2021 and 2022. However, the Quebecer really showed his worth in 2023, when Hernan Losada practically swore by him. Choinière took part in the MLS All-Star Game and ended the campaign with five goals and five assists.
Hired in January, Courtois quickly embraced the player. Choinière has started all nine of Montreal’s games this season, and missed only 10 minutes of action.
“Mathieu is like a machine. He runs for 90 minutes and covers a lot of ground. Everyone loves playing with him and he’s one of the most important players on our team,” defender George Campbell said.
“He’s an extremely important player. Not just for us, but for the fans too,” forward Ariel Lassiter added.
Choinière signed a contract extension in 2022, which expires at the end of the 2024 season. However, the team holds an option for 2025. The 25-year-old midfielder earned US$250,000 last year, according to the MLS Players’ Association.
In the meantime, Courtois wants to ensure that the situation does not become a distraction for the team. He also wants the players at the end of their contracts, including Choinière, to be in good mental shape for the season.
“I don’t care about their contractual situation, but on the other hand, what I’m interested in is their health and mental well-being. If it hinders concentration and work within the team, it becomes something we have to address. In Mathieu’s case, we continue to have a good channel of communication and nothing has changed on the pitch. He’ll continue to run around and have fun like a kid. I want him to stay that way,” the head coach inisted.
There’s also a game on Saturday night. CF Montréal (3-3-3) visits Nashville SC (1-3-5), a club that is winless in its last five outings (0-3-2).
The Montreal squad experienced a similar situation about a month ago in Seattle. The Sounders had lost their first five games of the season, but hammered Courtois’s team 5-0. The coach expects a similar response from Nashville SC.
“They’re a great team with a great style of play. They’re completely different from us, but it would be a mistake for us to think it’ll be easy,” he said. “Unconsciously, maybe that’s what we thought in Seattle, even though the guys acted like professionals. That’s how you concede goals and then it dictates the rest of the game.”
After featuring the best defence in MLS in 2023, tied with the Sounders with 32 goals allowed in 34 games, Nashville SC has allowed 17 goals in nine games this season.
However, the bleu-blanc-noir have been solid away from home since the start of the campaign, and they’re hoping to exploit some space to create some offence.
“Nashville is aggressive defensively. Their central defenders like to get forward a lot. We’ll try to use that space and get behind them. Opportunities on the counter-attack and behind defenders will be important,” Lassiter observed.
Courtois reported that defender Joaquin Sosa (calf) had taken more time out from Thursday’s training session, and that he was in good health. He also mentioned that striker Kwadwo Opoku (ankle) was close to a return to the squad. There is still no timetable for the injury to forward Josef Martinez (knee).
CF Montréal will no doubt be hoping the infirmary clears out a little, as they kick off a sequence of nine games in less than a month on Saturday.
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