Kei Kamara’s request to be traded away from CF Montréal is largely due to the veteran striker’s unhappiness over Wilfried Nancy’s exit as head coach, reports to TVA Sports.

Kamara tweeted on Wednesday, January 11, that he had requested a trade from the club, a move which TVA says surprised Sporting Director Olivier Renard and the organization. The desire for a move is reportedly not to do with salary or other financial considerations but due to the way the departure of Nancy was handled.

Nancy, who finished second in the voting for the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year award in 2022, left Montreal after two seasons in December. He won the Canadian Championship with CFM in 2021 and led the club to finish second in the Eastern Conference and third in the overall standings the following year. Midway through the 2022 season, though, he reportedly had a publicized fall-out with Joey Saputo.

Kamara’s preferred next move is to reunite with Nancy at the Columbus Crew, adds TVA, a team with which he has already played twice in the past. The former Sierra Leone international previously led the line up front for the Crew from 2006-08 and from 2015-16.

“I never wanted it to come to this, but I want to let you know I have asked the club for a trade,” Kamara’s tweet on January 11 read. “Mentally it has been a difficult offseason, but I have no regrets being a part of such a wonderful group in 2022… For once I threw all my eggs in one basket telling my family I found a place we can call home, finish my playing career and possibly more, but looks like it was just a dream.”

His wife also tweeted that Kei’s decision to ask for a trade “really hurts” and that “our family was looking forward to making Montréal home.”

Ultimately, though, CFM’s off-season turbulence seems to have been too much for the 38-year-old striker to stand. Whether he will get his trade to Columbus and his reunion with Nancy, though, remains to be seen.