“I’m Finally Playing in My Position”: Caden Clark Loving Life in Montreal

Luca Orellano #23 for FC Cincinnati battles for the ball against Caden Clark #23 and Dawid Bugaj #27 of CF Montreal (Photo by Colin Peterman/Getty Images)

When RB Leipzig announced the signing of Caden Clark in June 2021, he was quickly viewed as one of the top prospects in MLS. But when Clark finally moved to Germany in January 2023, he was coming off the back of a mediocre loan return to the Big Apple, which saw him fall to the bench. It had been seven years since he had been trialed with the German club Wolfsburg, but he was denied a move to their academy due to a lack of a European passport. But as the saying goes, a dream delayed is not a dream denied. Sooner or later, Clark would become the third American to play for Leipzig after Terrence Boyd and Tyler Adams…at least, that’s what he thought.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder packed his bags, headed across the Atlantic Ocean, and began training with a star-studded first-team squad featuring the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku, and Dani Olmo. However, one player caught his eye more than anyone else: Joško Gvardiol.

“Going up against Gvardiol was tough,” said Clark in an exclusive RG interview (read Part I of the interview here) . “He’s very fast, athletic, strong, and really good on the ball. I’d get the ball and he’d shut down space very quickly…you’d have to be very quick on your feet. You could tell he was going to be special.”

RB Leipzig is renowned as one of the prime talent refineries in world football, a team that excels at taking raw prospects and molding them into players who are ready for the top level, before selling them for massive fees to the biggest clubs in Europe – be that Olmo (Barcelona), Szoboszlai (Liverpool), Nkunku (Chelsea) or Gvardiol, who became the most expensive defender of all time when he joined Manchester City for €90 million. However, Clark would fail to make a single appearance in the 28 matches that he was eligible to play in, with Leipzig manager Marco Rose preferring more seasoned options like Szoboszlai, Nkunku, and current New York Red Bulls captain Emil Forsberg. Despite this, he has no regrets about trying his luck in the Bundesliga.

“It was fantastic to be training with those players, living next to them and learning from them…

I still text them from time to time. Leipzig is a great place and unfortunately, I didn’t get to play, but I had a lot of good experiences that I take with me to this day.”

A New Beginning  

Desperate for a fresh new start, Clark opted to return to his home state and sign a two-year contract with MLS side Minnesota United in September 2023. But before he could start playing for them in January 2024, Clark needed to find a temporary club to bide his time. He decided to join Danish top-flight side Vendsyssel FF, where he made just two appearances.

“I was there for a very short time. I was just there to make time pass before going to Minnesota, no other club would take me for two months on loan. Denmark’s a great place, but nothing really happened there.”

Seven years after leaving for the Barça Residency Academy in Arizona, Clark was finally headed back to the Gopher State, where he sought to rekindle the sparkling form that accompanied him throughout the start of his professional career. However, Clark struggled to find his mojo with the Loons, managing just 11 starts and even being dropped to their reserve team in MLS Next Pro. Manager Eric Ramsay attempted to shoehorn Clark into a right back/wingback role, a decision that proved costly for all parties involved.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out with Minnesota, for better or for worse. Clark needed to play in a system that utilized his strengths, and it became clear that wasn’t going to happen at home.

“It was great to come home and be around family and friends, but it just didn’t work out here. They had a coaching change and a front office change, and we just didn’t have the same vision. I didn’t play well at right back, which is understandable, but they wanted to go in a different direction, that’s why it didn’t work out, but I couldn’t be happier.”

Six months after making his Minnesota United debut, Caden was traded to CF Montreal for $50,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money (GAM) and a second-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft 2025. Minnesota could also receive up to $100,000 in additional GAM if certain performance-based conditions are met, and will also retain a sell-on percentage if Clark is transferred out of the MLS.

A New Lease on Life in Montreal

It hasn’t taken long for Clark to make that seem like a bargain: having failed to provide a single goal contribution in 23 appearances in Minnesota, he has already racked up four goals and two assists with Montreal. Montreal were 11th in the Eastern Conference when they traded for Clark – they ended in 8th place after winning four of their last five regular season matches, just about good enough to see them qualify for the wild-card match, where they lost on penalties to Atlanta United. Clark has been reinvigorated under French coach Laurent Courtois, finding a new lease on life as a second striker in their 3-4-2-1 formation.

“[Courtois] gives me the freedom to do certain things that I want to do on the pitch and it’s a really open dialogue, the trust is there. He’s a great manager and sees really interesting parts of the game. Having him as a manager is only going to help me and the club,” said the young striker. “I’m finally playing in my position and getting a run of games, getting in behind, manipulating pocket space to run in behind, and coming into the pocket. I just started doing that 10 games ago at Montreal, so I’m getting a feel for myself, but the move has definitely been a step in the right direction.”

Clark formed an impressive synergy alongside veteran striker Josef Martínez, who won the MLS Cup, the MLS MVP, the MLS Golden Boot, and set countless individual records during his time at Atlanta United; such as being the fastest MLS player to reach 100 goals.  

“He’s a great player and a great human being. He’s special and I think we had amazing chemistry together. He helped me look at certain things and tell me what to do sometimes, and where he wants me to be in order to help him on the pitch. He’s taught me a lot of things in my three months with him and it’s a pleasure to play with him. I’m sad to see that he won’t be with us next year.

Whilst Martínez won’t be sticking around in Quebec, Clark will stay put and provide a wealth of experience to the team, having already amassed 82 MLS appearances at the tender age of 21. Clark has already gone up against a plethora of big-name stars in MLS like Nani, Javier Hernández and Gonzalo Higuaín. Still, there’s been one player in particular that he attempts to model his game around: LA Galaxy’s Riqui Puig.

“He’s an amazing player and really fun to watch. I don’t play as deep as him, but I’d love to take some of the things he does and bring it to my game. You can see how he floats around the pitch; he’s free-flowing and plays in tight spaces.”

A National Team Invite?

After bouncing around from the United States to Germany to Denmark, Clark is finally exploiting his full potential in Canada. Despite only playing the last few weeks of the campaign, Clark finished amongst Montreal’s top three players in goals (4), successful dribbles per 90 (0.6) and key passes per 90 (0.7) and provided the impetus for their playoff berth. He’s already won silverware at the international level, claiming the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship under the tutelage of Mikey Varas, who will become San Diego FC’s first-ever manager when they commence their MLS journey in February 2025.

“Mikey was a great coach and he’s going to do really well at San Diego, I already know it,” says Clark.

“He’s a very open guy who’s always there for his players, he has a goal, he has a gameplan…I’m grateful for him and I hope he does very well with San Diego. Playing under Mikey and numerous other coaches, they teach you another part of the game that comes from not being at your club.”

Clark is looking to follow in the footsteps of Jalen Leal and Cade Cowell, who have gone from winning the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 title in Honduras to playing for the US Men’s National Team, and if he can continue progressing at this rate, it may only be a matter of time before Mauricio Pochettino gives him a maiden call-up to the senior team. But whilst Clark has plenty of goals for 2025, returning to Europe isn’t one of them.  

In the meantime, Montreal city life has been a breath of fresh air for the young No. 10. He’s got new momentum in his career, and there’s ample room for his game to blossom.

“I feel really comfortable living in the Old Port of Montreal, it’s a great place with great people and they’ve really helped me these past three months. I don’t have to think about 1,000 different things, I can just play my game. That’s when players are at their best, when they don’t have to think so much and can just play and do what feels right for them…having that freedom in my mind really changed my game.”