Sounders FC signs Montero to extension
Dec 1, 2010, 11:37 AM | Updated: Apr 5, 2011, 9:50 am
Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero signed a contract extension Wednesday, becoming the clubs' third designated player. (MyNorthwest.com/Jane Gershovich)
(MyNorthwest.com/Jane Gershovich)
MyNorthwest.com staff
The Seattle Sounders FC announced Wednesday they have signed forward Fredy Montero to a contract extension, making him the club’s third designated player.
The 23-year old Montero has scored 22 goals and 17 assists in 56 league games in two seasons with the Sounders FC.
Montero originally signed with the team in 2009 on loan from Columbian club Deportivo Cali, where he helped lead the club to two consecutive playoff appearances in their two seasons of play in MLS. He was named the 2009 MLS Newcomer of the year after finishing third in goal (12).
A two-time MLS All-Star selection, Montero becomes the third designated player on the Sounders FC roster with forward Blaise Nkufo and midfielder Alvaro Fernandez rounding out the two other designated player slots. The designated player rule allows MLS teams to sign players without restriction to the salary cap, but the club must pay a $250,000 luxury tax for the right to sign a third designated player.
Last season he became one of two players in MLS to finish among the top ten in goals (10) and assists (10), and was named Player of the Month in July. Montero was an instrumental piece in the Sounders FC’s two consecutive Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Championships in 2009 and 2010, and scored the club’s first goal in both MLS and international play.
