French Please!

Top 3 Players Montreal Needs Inquire About To Put A Dent In The Soccer Community

Joey Saputo has it all wrong.

I was there the day the Thierry Henry visited Montreal  and the place was pure pandemonium. Sold out, the place was rocking all night.

Having visited many times, Montreal is a European city stuck in North America. The soccer fans want a face that they can recognize and until they do this, I believe Montreal will continue to struggle with attendance. With almost 68% of the 3.8 million people in the greater Montreal area listing French as their first language and the city decided having a French culture, French players are needed. 

Here are my Top 3 choices of players that Joey Saputo needs to inquire about:

1. Florent Malouda

Via Wikipedia.com

The 32 year old French International has had recent troubles concerning his play at Chelsea. Basically exiled from the team, Malouda has not appeared in a game for Chelsea since the tail end of the 2011-2012 campaign. As of three days ago, The Sun has said that Chelsea are willing to let him walk for free. Why not bring in the troubled winger into camp and see what he has left in the tank?

Chance of joining Montreal: 25%

2. Patrice Evra

Via soccernet-assets.espn.go.com

As much of a long shot this sounds lets not forget he is 31 years old. His playing time is bound to diminish in the coming years. Not only that but fellow friend Thierry Henry is still in the league. This may take a couple years for Saputo to develop a relationship with Evra but over time he might convince the Manchester United star to try out Montreal.

Chance of joining Montreal: 10%

3. Andre-Pierre Gignac

Via Espoirsdufootball.com

The Marseille-man might be the game changer Montreal needs. Gignac is young at 27 years old and is currently on the outs with his French based club. Since his transfer from Toulouse, he has scored only 21 times in 70 games in all competitions. With his hefty salary (Gignac makes almost $4.8 million this season) it makes sense for Montreal to inquire his services. Who knows, with a pay raise he could be the clubs leading scorer for the next 5-7 years.

Chance of joining Montreal: 5% (I'll put it at 10% if he ends up being the highest paid player in the league)

More French players are out there. Let your voice be heard in the comment section. Who should be the first big French player to come to Montreal?