CF Montreal is an utter tire fire of an organization.
As blunt and unkind as an assessment that might be, it’s a fair description of a team that has embarrassingly stumbled and bumbled its way through a disastrous 2026 campaign.
Montreal began its MLS season with six losses in its opening seven games, which led to coach Marco Donadel being fired. Interim boss Philippe Eullaffroy hasn’t fared much better. Since MLS resumed in mid-July following its extended break for the FIFA World Cup, Montreal has won just two of 17 matches.
The Black and Blue have essentially been on a slow death march since the beginning of the season, sitting at or near the bottom of the Eastern Conference for most of the year. Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Nashville SC finally put Montreal out of its misery as it was officially eliminated from playoff contention. If not for Western Conference outfit Sporting Kansas City being even worse, Montreal would be in last place in MLS.
The loss to Nashville capped off a calamitous week for the Quebec-based club. Three days earlier, it suffered an embarrassing penalty shootout loss to Forge FC at home in the Canadian Championship final. Forge competes in the lower-tiered Canadian Premier League, where teams have a salary budget of C$1,337,500. Montreal’s player payroll for the 2026 MLS season comes in at roughly US$13.4 million, with leading scorer Prince Owusu earning $1.3 million.
Star designated player Alexis Sánchez was an unused substitute in the game against Forge, which raises questions as to why Montreal signed him in the first place if not to play in important games such as the Canadian Championship final. Beyond that, the aging Chilean attacker has been a complete bust in MLS — he has just one assist and no goals in 12 MLS appearances since joining Montreal as a free agent in August, and now he reportedly wants to opt out of his contract.
And if that’s not enough, 1642MTL, one of CF Montreal’s leading supporters’ groups, is so fed up that it has essentially decided to go on strike for the remainder of the season. When the most loyal fans turn their back, you know a team has problems.
“The accumulation of failures over the past two, if not three, seasons, both on and off the pitch, leaves us with no choice but to question our efforts, our commitment to (the club), and even the future of 1642MTL itself,” the group wrote in a statement posted on social media.
You can hardly blame Montreal’s long-suffering supporters for taking such drastic measures. They’ve had to watch owner Joey Saputo and management run the club into the ground by repeatedly bringing in coaches and players who’ve failed to leave their mark.
Eullaffroy is Montreal’s 11th coach since its debut MLS season, in 2012. Mauro Biello is the only one who managed to stick around for two full calendar years. Only four of Montreal's coaches have lasted 50 games in MLS.
Player investment has been another issue, as Montreal has historically been one of the league’s cheapest outfits. Per the publication of team salaries by the players’ union in April, Montreal’s payroll of US$13,418,254 was the third lowest in MLS.
Not since Nacho Piatti was signed in 2014 has the club spent a substantial transfer fee to sign a designated player. Pretty much every DP since then was either signed on a loan deal or secured via a free transfer or a trade. The bulk of them were busts, including Lucas Ontivero, Blerim Džemaili, Aljaž Struna, Giacomo Vrioni and Iván Jaime.
CF Montreal published an open letter to fans in July 2025 acknowledging its poor results, while also announcing a franchise rebuild.
"We have not met the standards we set for ourselves, nor those you have the right to expect. That is why we felt the need to communicate with you directly today,” the letter stated.
“We share your dissatisfaction with the club’s results, and it is our responsibility to build a winning team that we can all be proud of. That is why we have decided to undertake a rebuild and launch a new chapter at CF Montreal. A chapter based on ambition and pride. A new era with victory at the heart of our sporting ambitions.”
The letter was signed by president and CEO Gabriel Gervais, as well as Joey Saputo’s sons, Luca and Simone, who serve as the club’s senior directors. But thus far, the Saputo brothers (both in their 20s), have been unable to turn things around, and appear to be out of their depth.
Real change is needed at CF Montreal, changes at the very top of the franchise. Unless that happens, it’s difficult to envision this franchise getting back on track anytime soon.
Elsewhere in MLS this weekend:
• Toronto FC’s hopes of securing a playoff berth took a hit in a 4-2 road loss to the Columbus Crew on Saturday. TFC conceded four goals in 59 minutes before making a game of it after Columbus had a man sent off. The defeat saw Toronto drop from 10th to 11th in the Eastern Conference, two spots and three points below the playoff line with only three games remaining in the regular season.
• The Vancouver Whitecaps have already secured a playoff berth but their grip on first place in the Western Conference has been loosened. The Whitecaps dropped a 1-0 road decision to the Colorado Rapids, which means they have just one win in their last six games. Vancouver was previously running away with things in the West but it now leads FC Dallas by a single point.
• Nashville SC’s win in Montreal allowed it to claim the Supporters' Shield (regular-season championship) for the first time in its history. Nashville has 70 points and can set a league record for most points in a season (74, set by Inter Miami in 2024) if it earns five points from its last three matches. The club from Music City USA will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
• A wild 2-2 draw between the LA Galaxy and LAFC in the El Tráfico derby was the highlight of the weekend. Joseph Paintsil’s brace gave the Galaxy an early lead before LAFC scored two second-half goals to claim a draw and officially clinch a playoff berth. The Galaxy are clinging to the ninth and final playoff spot in the West with three games left in the campaign.
• Orlando City kept its playoff hopes alive with a 2-2 draw at home against New York City to remain seventh in the East. Atoine Griezmann scored on a header, which means he has 13 goals and seven assists in his first 15 MLS matches. He is the second-fastest player to record 20 MLS goal contributions; Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi did it in 14 games.
• FC Cincinnati’s Evander entered the MLS record books in a 2-0 home win over D.C. United. The Brazilian playmaker scored the game’s opener and then set up teammate Tom Barlow’s goal in the second half. In doing so, Evander became only the second player in league history (Messi is the other) to register at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 27 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.