The Montreal Impact and Ignacio "Nacho" Piatti have agreed to mutually terminate his contract ahead of a return to play for San Lorenzo in his native Argentina, the club announced on Monday.
"I would like to thank Nacho, personally and on behalf of our club, for his six years with the Montreal Impact," said owner and chairman Joey Saputo. "His professionalism, class and love for the sport, this club and this city have marked his time in Montreal. The thrilling moments he allowed us to experience and share through his play on the field will remain fixed in this club's history, as will his status as one of the greatest players to wear the Impact jersey."
Piatti, 35, will move back to Argentine club San Lorenzo, the team he joined the Impact from in 2014.
The dynamic midfielder enjoyed a stellar six year career in Major League Soccer, twice being named to the MLS Best XI team while racking up a club record 78 goals for the team across all competitions.
During his time in Montreal he started in eight MLS Cup playoff games, scoring five goals and adding three assists, with the Impact reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2016 before losing to Toronto FC in an epic match that finished 7-5 on aggregate.
On Tuesday, Montreal announced that San Lorenzo midfielder Emanuel Maciel would be moving in the other direction in a free transfer resulting from the "strategic cooperative relationship" between the two clubs.
"We are happy to welcome with us Emanuel, a promising young player," Impact sporting director Olivier Renard said in a statement. "We hope to have forged a relationship with San Lorenzo that could lead to more players from that club following 'Nacho' Piatti's footsteps and making the jump to Major League Soccer with our club, starting with Emanuel Maciel."
