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Nearly seven months after the Canadian Football League assumed ownership of the Alouettes, the sale of the franchise finally appears close.

And in a stunning revelation, don’t be surprised if the Wetenhall family — Robert and one of his sons, Andrew — who owned the team for more than two decades are involved again in some capacity, the Montreal Gazette has learned.

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Numerous sources have indicated the family is ready to put some money into the financially strapped club again despite having sold the franchise to the league on May 31, months after being unable to find a new owner.

Photo by John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

The Wetenhalls will not be riding to the rescue again, as they did in 1997, because their stake in the team figures to be nominal. And it appears one of the driving forces behind this decision is the family’s friendship and association with Montreal-based Claridge Investment Ltd., which will have a stake in the team.

Claridge is headed by executive chairman Stephen Bronfman, who’s attempting to bring a major-league baseball team back to Montreal and recently stated the Als could play in a new stadium proposed to be constructed near the Peel basin. Pierre Boivin is Claridge’s president and chief executive officer. His son, Patrick, is the Als’ president.