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Report: Montero to sign with Sporting Lisbon

Millonarios vs Equidad

By DAN KARELL

One-time Seattle Sounders forward Fredy Montero could be donning the green of Sporting Lisbon this fall.

The Portuguese club has reportedly reached an agreement with the Colombian front-man on a five-year contract, and now all that’s left is settling the transfer fee to take him from his on-loan club Millonarios to Portugal ahead of the upcoming season.

The Lions, Sporting Lisbon’s nickname, have reportedly been tracking Montero for a long time but only reached an agreement with him yesterday. Having sold Rick Van Wolfswinkel and Salim Cisse to Norwich in England and Academica in Portugal, respectively, the Lions are in need of strikers for next season.

Since moving to Millonarios in January, Montero has failed to live up to expectation, scoring just five times in 20 domestic league appearances, and going scoreless in five appearances in the Copa Libertadores this past spring.

What do you make of this news? Excited to see Montero go abroad? Do you see him finding his scoring touch in Portugal?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “the Sounders could allow Montero to transfer without his reported $4 million buyout clause being triggered.”

    From what I can tell when he went to Colombia his contract was extended with Seattle and apparently there is a buyout clause. I think $4 Million would be a fair price for MLS and the Sounders to accept. .

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  2. Please be a big transfer fee. Seattle allocation money would be nice.

    I hope Montero does well. I wanted Martins over him, but he seems like a very nice guy. Be very glad if does nicely.

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    • Your joking right? Did you read the article? It said he sucked while on loan Seattle would be lucky to get 2 million out of this deal.

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    • There’s no way Morris signs until after he’s completed a year at Stanford. If he completes a year he can come back and get a degree if he doesn’t attend classes at all he would have to reapply. Given how few home grown signings make it more than a few years in the league he’d be crazy to give that up.

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  3. personally i am more excited that Rick Van Wolfswinkel will be in the premier league next year.. looking forward to Arlo White’s call on that.

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  4. I’m sure that’s nice chunk of change for an MLS player. How will the financing work here? Is the money going to MLS and the Sounders. If so, that will be a big score for both, including lots of allocation $ for Seattle.

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    • I remember reading that Seattle had a “sell-on” fee in their deal with Milionarios, meaning they get a big slice if Milionarios sell Montero on to another club. I think this was Seattle’s end game all along. Cha-Ching for Sounders.

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      • My question would be: Why would Milionarios get ANY fee, considering they took him on loan?

        If they had paid a transfer fee for him, I would understand but why they would get anything, for paying nothing (other than his salary) is beyond me and I would really lose faith in MLS’s ability to negotiate.

      • Agreed…it will be interesting to see the details of how this works when (if?) they release the numbers. If Milionarios had Fredy on loan with an option to buy him for $4.5MM, you would think that Milionarios would have to pay that $4.5MM to MLS/Seattle (however it is split up) in order to have the right to sell him to a 3rd team. Everything is negotiable, so I am sure MLS/Seattle have to give the green light to the transfer and the allocation of the fee.

  5. I’m just happy that there is someone named Rick Van Wolfswinkel. I wonder if his friends use the other diminutive of Richard for him?

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  6. He’s a great player. I don’t think Seattle always got the best out of him because I don’t think they figured out where his best position is. Out wide and cutting in? As the striker? The creative? The supporting forward? His roles changed often. Hopefully he can now find consistency.

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