Fredy Montero negotiations ‘at an impasse’

SEATTLE – Few players in the 50-year history of the Seattle Sounders have a softer place in the hearts of fans than Fredy Montero.

First as a young up-and-coming prospect, Montero dazzled with impressive skill while helping the Sounders enter MLS with a flourish. When he returned in 2021, it was more as a grizzled veteran who had since traveled the world scoring goals and picking up silverware. Somewhat surprisingly, Montero remained reasonably effective and has scored 19 goals across all competitions while providing a veteran presence in his last three seasons.

Given that history, the Sounders were at least open to bringing back the 36-year-old in 2024 despite him appearing just twice off the bench over the last five months of last season.

As the season enters its fourth week, however, Montero remains unsigned with some rumors that he may be close to returning to Deportivo Cali, one of his former teams in Colombia.

Asked about the possibility of Montero returning to the Sounders, Schmetzer said “I had hoped so. There’s still some sliver of hope with ongoing negotiations, but right now we’re at an impasse.”

It was not immediately clear what was causing that impasse, but it would seem the Sounders made an offer that Montero was not inclined to accept for one reason or another.

Injury updates

Albert Rusnák and Yeimar Gomez Andrade got through the week training in full and will likely be available for the Rapids game. Stefan Frei also returned to training on Friday, but Schmetzer said they would wait another week before bringing him back. João Paulo’s timeline is not as clear with Schmetzer calling him day-to-day.

All games free

AppleTV is making all games on MLS Season Pass available for free this weekend. The Sounders-Rapids game is also being broadcast on Fox.