CF Montreal traded forward Erik Hurtado to the Columbus Crew on Thursday and cited his refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccine as reason for his departure.
Montreal received $200,000 for Hurtado in general allocation money.
“Because he’s not vaccinated against Covid-19, his situation was problematic and we started considering a trade when we got the confirmation that the team could return to Montreal,” Montreal sporting director Olivier Renard said in a press release.
“Before proceeding, Erik also confirmed that he was not comfortable taking the vaccine, so we concluded this deal, which we felt was very satisfactory.”
Hurtado, 30, played in seven games (two starts) for Montreal and notched one assist. He joined the team as a free agent in February.
This is his ninth MLS season, spending six years with the Vancouver Whitecaps from 2013-18 and the last two years with Sporting Kansas City. In 140 career games, he has 19 goals and 11 assists.
“Erik is a versatile forward who has valuable experience in our League and provides us with another option on attack,” Columbus president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “His addition to our roster will ensure that we have another proven MLS goal scorer to call upon when needed.”
–Field Level Media
