The plot has thickened regarding Montreal Impact midfielder Ignacio Piatti.
The star Argentine's future with the club has been the subject of much speculation throughout the season, with injuries limiting him to just 10 appearances in MLS play and club president Kevin Gilmore saying that the club's new sporting director Olivier Renard would decide if his 2020 option would be picked up. Piatti has said his preference would be to stay in Montreal, but added that the decision wasn't his to make.
Montreal's end-of-season media availability on Tuesday seemed like it would offer some clarity on the matter after an Impact official told reporters that Piatti had a meeting with club brass earlier in the day and was informed that they would be exercising his contract option and be bringing him back for 2020. But the reporters assembled at the end-of-season press event wouldn't get to ask the man himself about that, as Piatti never showed up, with apparently no explanation as to why he skipped out after initially planning on attending.
It remains to be seen how this plays out, but if Tuesday's no-show is a sign Piatti wants out, it would mark a major changing of the guard for the club.
Prior to his injury-shortened campaign in 2019, Piatti established himself as one of the most talented, well-rounded attacking players in MLS, racking up at least 16 goals in each of the previous three years, including a fantastic 2018 season that saw him stuff the statsheet to the tune of 16g/13a. He's 34-years-old, but he showed he's still got something left in the tank in Canadian Championship play, winning the Golden Boot in this year's competition while helping spark Montreal to an upset victory over Toronto FC.
Stay tuned, Piatti Watch is in full effect.
