MONTREAL – CF Montréal announced on Wednesday that midfielder Djordje Mihailovic has been sold to Dutch first division club AZ Alkmaar.
Mihailovic will finish the current season with CF Montréal and then join his new club on January 1, 2023.
“I want to thank Djordje for believing in our project and choosing to come to Montreal to showcase his immense potential. We also want to thank him for everything he achieved on the field since his arrival, but also for wanting to continue the season with us to try to go as far as possible,” said Vice-President and Chief Sporting Officer Olivier Renard. “Europe has been his dream for many years, and I am happy we can contribute to his career objectives. This agreement is a good fit for Djordje. It is a club he wanted to be a part of and where his qualities and style of play can be fully realized.”
“This is a very exciting moment for me, but also sad, knowing that I will be leaving CF Montréal,” said Djordje Mihailovic. “When I joined this team from Chicago, I didn't expect this kind of reception. I want to thank the fans for their support. It has been an incredible experience. I would also like to thank Oliver [Renard], Vassili [Cremanzidis], Joey [Saputo] and Gabriel [Gervais] for their understanding; Europe has always been my dream and they gave me the chance to pursue this new path in my career. But it's not over yet! This season we have the opportunity to do something special for the Club and the city.”
Mihailovic, 23, has played 54 regular season games, including 50 starts, and 4,306 minutes in two seasons with CF Montréal. So far this season he has scored a career-high seven goals and provided four assists. In 2021, he had 16 assists, setting a new Club record, previously held by Nacho Piatti (13 in 2018). Named 2021 Club MVP, he helped CF Montréal win the 2021 Canadian Championship, in addition to playing a key role in the Club's run to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Concacaf Champions League, where he scored a goal and an assist in four games against Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul of Liga MX.
Following four seasons with the Chicago Fire, he was acquired by Montreal in return for $400,000 in 2021 General Allocation Money and $400,000 in 2022 General Allocation Money. The deal also included Chicago retaining a percentage of an eventual transfer.
The Chicago native has featured six times for the U.S. men’s national team, including two games at the 2019 Gold Cup. He scored his first goal with the senior side on January 28, 2019, in a friendly against Panama. Most recently, he was called up to join the senior team for four games in the June international window.
Transaction: CF Montréal transfers midfielder Djordje Mihailovic to AZ Alkmaar effective January 1, 2023
