Ignacio Piatti stopped well short of saying that he would be back with the Montreal Impact next season when he was asked for an update in contract negotiations, but his answer certainly made it sound likely.
"Yes, there is good news but we will talk about it after the last five games [of the season]," Piatti said in French after practice in Montreal on Friday in a video posted by RDS.ca.
Pressed by a reporter to qualify whether or not the news would be positive, the Argentine midfielder replied, "Yes, I think so. We'll see."
Fresh from scoring a brace in Montreal's 5-3 win at Toronto on Wednesday night, Piatti leads the Impact with 17 goals in 24 games this season. That matches the Designated Player's career high, which he set last season in 32 games.
"That's good news," Impact coach Mauro Biello said when he was told about Piatti's comments. "I know that they are in negotiations, and if that ends well, I think we all see what he is capable of doing -- already 17 goals this season, he has missed maybe six games, and maybe a couple where he wasn't at 100 percent. And he's a midfielder, not a forward, so if you take all that into account he's one of the best players in the league, and we see that in his quality and his play."
The stunning win over their 401 Derby rivals snapped Montreal's four-game losing streak and kept alive the Impact's faint hopes of qualifying for the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs.
"We knew that Toronto was our last chance," Piatti said. "We had to win, and we won, and now it's the same thing. There are five games remaining and he have to win each of them to get a place in the playoffs. That's what it is, and Columbus has to lose some points and we have to win them all. That's the mentality and that's all we have talked about is the last five games, we have to play to win."
Piatti said he and his teammates have to make the most of their opportunity heading into their game at Atlanta on Sunday (5 pm ET | FOX, FOX Deportes in US; TVA Sports, MLS LIVE in Canada).
"We know it has not been a good season for us, we have lost a lot of points," Piatti said. "I remember the first home game here against Seattle, 2-2 in the last 30 seconds, with Orlando, the last 30 seconds, with Chicago -- that's six points we're missing. So now we have to lift our heads and we have to go into every game we have left with heads on straight and concentrate."
