He scored just seven goals in 58 third division games – now he carries an entire MLS team on his shoulders: Prince Owusu (28) is unexpectedly blossoming at CF Montreal and even surpasses Lionel Messi in one statistic.
Arminia Bielefeld, 1860 Munich, SC Paderborn, Erzgebirge Aue, and Jahn Regensburg: For many years, Prince Owusu’s career read like that of a classic second- and third-division player. The striker caused a surprise two seasons ago with his move to MLS team FC Toronto – but what the 28-year-old has shown on the pitch since joining league rivals CF Montreal in January 2025 is truly astonishing.
In a league where teams are led by veteran stars such as Lionel Messi, Marco Reus and Olivier Giroud, it is Owusu who is a real lifeline for his team. In his 25 MLS appearances for Montreal so far, the striker has already scored eleven goals, exactly the same number as in his 83 second division games. Even more impressive: Owusu has scored almost 48 percent of Montreal’s goals – no other player in the entire league has scored such a high percentage for a single club. Even Lionel Messi has “only” been responsible for just under 37 percent of Inter Miami’s goals this season.
Suddenly a leading player in Montreal
The former junior international (two appearances for Germany’s U19 team) attributes his sudden rise in form in Canada primarily to the trust placed in him. “The guys in my team make me feel really important. I think that’s the key,” said the 6-foot-3 giant in an interview with transfermarkt.de.
But in Montreal, everyone is still waiting for his teammates to break out of their slump just like Owusu himself did. The young and largely inexperienced Canadian team is currently bottom of the Eastern Conference, having collected a meagre 18 points from 25 games. It is probably only thanks to the German striker that the Quebec team has not completely lost touch with the competition.
However, Owusu is not yet considering leaving, at least not publicly. The goal-scoring machine is tied to the current bottom-of-the-table team until the end of 2026, and his contract is said to include an option for another season. Since there is no relegation in the MLS, the 28-year-old can look forward to more duels with Messi, Luis Suarez & Co. in the coming season.
Whether Owusu will face a direct duel with his German striker colleague Thomas Müller remains uncertain. Müller’s future employer, Vancouver Whitecaps, is based in the Western Conference and does not regularly play against Montreal – however, each MLS season also features a certain number of matches between teams from different conferences. Owusu could also theoretically face Müller in the Canadian Championship, the national cup competition, but the Quebec team has already been eliminated from the tournament this year.
The last and most unrealistic chance for a German striker duel would be a possible MLS final, in which the winner of the Western Conference would face the winner of the Eastern Conference. With the Whitecaps currently in second place in the East, such a final appearance seems entirely possible, but the Western Conference’s bottom team from Quebec is 17 points behind the nearest playoff spot. Mathematically, it is still possible in the ten remaining games of the season – but even with a ludicrous goal ratio from Prince Owusu, it is more likely to remain a pipe dream.
