He won the UEFA Champions League twice with FC Barcelona
MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact announced on Wednesday that the club has come to terms with Spanish attacking midfielder Bojan Krkic (Bo-YAN Kir-KICH) on a one-and-a-half-season contract until the end of the 2020 season using Targeted Allocation Money. The agreement comes with options for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He will join the club upon receiving his international transfer certificate and passing his medical.
The club’s newest acquisition will be presented to supporters during half-time of the Canadian Championship semifinals first leg on Wednesday, at 7:30pm, at Stade Saputo. Excellent tickets are still available for this game.
“Bojan is a very talented player who, at 28 years old, chose the Impact to pursue his career, after having played for some of the biggest clubs in the world,” said Montreal Impact head coach Rémi Garde. “His offensive ability to get others involved in the game and to score goals will be of precious help for the final stretch of the season. I welcome him to our club.”
Bojan, 28, played the last five years with English club Stoke City, recording 14 goals and two assists in 53 Premier League games and 3,462 minutes, between 2014 and 2018. The Impact’s new number 9 spent the last season in the Championship, England’s second division, scoring once in 21 games, including eight starts, and 735 minutes. He also appeared in three FA Cup games and eight EFL Cup games with the Potters.
After rising through and breaking numerous youth records at La Masia, the prestigious FC Barcelona Academy, between 1996 and 2006, Bojan became on September 16, 2007, at the age of 17 years and 19 days, the youngest player in club history to play in a La Liga game, surpassing Lionel Messi’s previous record. Three days later, he became the youngest player in FC Barcelona history to appear in a UEFA Champions League game. On October 27, 2007, he became the youngest player in club history to score in a league game.
In four seasons with Barça, he won three La Liga championships, registering 26 goals and 12 assists in 104 games and 4,113 minutes. He also helped the club win two UEFA Champions League, in 2008-09 and 2010-11, adding five goals and two assists in 26 games 847 minutes. He also won a Copa Del Rey, two Supercopa de España, one UEFA SuperCup and one FIFA Club World Cup.
He concluded his time at FC Barcelona with 41 goals and 19 assists in 163 games and 7,075 minutes, all competitions.
Transferred to Italian giant A.S. Roma for 12 million euros in July 2011, Bojan tallied seven goals and one assist in 33 Serie A games, while also playing in two Europa League games and two Coppa Italia games. He was then loaned to AC Milan the following season, recording three goals and two assists in 19 games, plus six UEFA Champions League games and two Coppa Italia games.
Returning to FC Barcelona following non-exercised options, Bojan was loaned to Dutch club Ajax, in the Eredivisie, for the 2013-14 season. He helped the club win the Johan Cruyff Shield and the regular season title, recording four goals and four assists in 24 games, including 17 starts, and 1,356 minutes. He also appeared in two UEFA Champions League games, two Europa League games and three Dutch Cup games.
While at Stoke City, he was also loaned to Bundesliga club Mainz for the second half of the 2016-17 season, and to Deportivo Alavés, in La Liga, in 2017-18.
Throughout his European career, Bojan recorded five goals and two assists in 34 games and 1,335 minutes in the UEFA Champions League, and one assist in four Europa League games, while also appearing in several national tournaments.
At the international level, Bojan has played one game with the Spain national team, making his debut with the senior team at the age of 18, on September 10, 2008, in a World Cup qualification game against Armenia. He had previously helped Spain win the 2006 UEFA European U17 Championship in Luxembourg, finishing tied for first in the tournament with five goals. He then led Spain to the FIFA U17 World Cup final, in South Korea, concluding the tournament tied for third with five goals while earning the Bronze Ball as the third best player. He also appeared in the 2009 UEFA European U21 Championship in 2009, in Sweden, and in 2011, in Denmark. At the senior level, he has also scored seven goals in eight games with the Catalan national team.
Transaction: The Montreal Impact has come to terms with attacking midfielder Bojan Krkic on a one-and-a-half-season contract until the end of the 2020 season, using Targeted Allocation Money. The agreement comes with options for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
BOJAN KRKIĆ
Position: Midfielder
Number: 9
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 150 lbs
Birthdate and birthplace: August 28, 1990, in Linyola, Spain
Citizenship: Spain & Serbia
Last club: Stoke City (England)
Date acquired: August 7, 2019
