FC Whitehorse Freezers surprised a lot of people in the CSL when they purchased star defender Iban Tejeda from fellow CSL club Presbyterian Express for $1 million. However, the club then sold Tejeda to Brazilian club El Boltos FC for a $3.15 million transfer fee, leaving fans puzzled and disappointed.
Manager Raley Treffle said in a recent interview that he understood the fans' frustration, but felt that this was the best decision for the long term future of the club. "It obviously doesn't look good at first glance" said Treffle. "We made the move to sign Tejeda because we believe that he's a star player who could improve our club immediately. The problem is that our goals aren't simply to be better, but rather to be good enough to compete for championships. Ultimately, we felt that the offer that was made for him by the Bolts was too good for us to pass up. Now, we have some extra money to go out and spend on top talent, and that is absolutely what we intend to do. I'm asking people to wait and see what happens."
Despite this, fans of the Freezers were understandably disappointed by the development. "It feels like a total bait and switch" said Freezers season ticket holder Lucy Goddard. "This is a team that could be a couple really good players away from being competitive week in, week out. And to go out and get a player of that calibre only to sell him immediately doesn't inspire confidence." Tanner Lane, the president of the Blizzard Brigade, the largest Freezers supporters' group, echoed that sentiment. "Players like Iban Tejeda don't come around everyday" said Lane. "It takes courage to go out and make a move like that to acquire a player like that. It takes cowardice to then go and take the money instead. Balance sheets don't win championships, players do."
The Freezers also announced that midfielder Kaidan Lemoine has been sold to the Manitoba Moos. The 20 year old midfielder played 66 matches in his 2 years in Whitehorse, scoring 4 goals.
We will continue to monitor the fallout from this move and all of the other transactions in the coming weeks.