TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Trade
- CLB receive: Rudy Camacho
- MTL receive: $400k GAM
The Columbus Crew have acquired center back Rudy Camacho from CF Montréal in exchange for $400,000 in General Allocation Money, the Eastern Conference clubs announced Monday. The funds break down as $200k in 2023 and $200k in 2024.
The 32-year-old Frenchman will reunite with Columbus head coach Wilfried Nancy, who took over last December after spending over a decade with Montréal, including two seasons as head coach.
Camacho was in his sixth season with Montréal (2018-23) and has scored seven goals in 128 MLS appearances (126 starts).
"Rudy’s skillset and leadership provide a solid veteran presence to our backline, especially given his familiarity with Coach Nancy and our team’s desired style of play," Columbus president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement.
"A high-caliber player and consistent starter for CF Montréal in recent years, he is another strong addition to our club as we continue to improve the roster during the summer window."
Camacho joins a defensive unit undergoing changes after Columbus transferred Milos Degenek to Serbian top-flight side Red Star Belgrade for an undisclosed fee and acquired Ukrainian center back Yevhen Cheberko from Croatian top-flight side NK Osijek. It’s part of a busy Secondary Transfer Window (closes Aug. 2) for the Crew that included acquiring midfielder/defender Julian Gressel in a trade with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
CF Montréal have been busy, too, signing center back Fernando Álvarez from Liga MX side Pachuca. The club also added forward Kwadwo “Mahala” Opoku in a trade with LAFC for a near-record $1.75 million in General Allocation Money (GAM).
At the Leagues Cup break, Columbus are sixth in the Eastern Conference standings and Montréal are 10th, one point below the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line.
READ MORE: MLS Transfer Tracker presented by Avant
