Lewandowski closer and closer to MLS: Chicago Fire again in serious talks with the Polish striker
Robert Lewandowski could open the next chapter of his career in Major League Soccer, and Chicago Fire is once again standing out as the club making the most concrete attempt to bring in one of the most successful European strikers of recent decades. According to information published on June 12 by specialized football media, negotiations have again entered a more serious phase, and the Polish international is reportedly expected to travel to Chicago together with his long-time agent Pini Zahavi. According to the same sources, the purpose of the trip is not only to continue contract talks, but also to become familiar with the club, the city, the sporting project and the living conditions that would accompany a possible transfer. However, according to the available information, no agreement has yet been concluded, and neither side has officially announced that a final deal has been reached.
Chicago’s interest is not new, but it has now taken on a different context because FC Barcelona has officially confirmed that Lewandowski is ending his spell at the Catalan club at the end of the 2025/2026 season. According to Barcelona’s official announcement, the striker announced his departure through his own social media channels and described his four seasons at the club as an extremely important period of his career. This opened the door to talks without a transfer fee, although any move to MLS would still have to pass through the league’s specific rules, transfer windows and restrictions linked to team budgets. For that reason, Chicago Fire is not negotiating only about the sporting impact of one player, but also about a transfer that would carry significance for the entire club, market and league.
Negotiations are not finished, but Chicago is trying to speed up the decision
According to reports citing information from Fabrizio Romano and Polish journalist Tomasz Włodarczyk, Chicago Fire is prepared to offer Lewandowski a multi-year contract, with the media mentioning a period of two to three seasons. Such a framework makes sense from an MLS perspective, because the club would commit to a short- to medium-term period in which it would make use of the player’s sporting level, experience and commercial reach, but without a contract that would extend too far into the final stage of his career. Lewandowski will turn 38 in August, but his professional discipline so far and his continuity of goals are the reason why clubs still do not view him merely as a symbolic reinforcement.
According to the available information, Chicago is counting on several arguments. The first is sporting: this is a striker who, during his career, led the attacks of Borussia Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona and the Polish national team, and who remained recognizable for his exceptional efficiency in the penalty area. The second is market-related: Lewandowski’s arrival would be one of the most high-profile transfers in Fire history and would significantly increase the club’s international visibility. The third is local: Chicago and the surrounding area have a long-standing and numerous Polish community, which means the Polish captain could become an important link between the club, the fans and the wider community in the city.
Still, the entire deal remains at a stage where interest must be distinguished from a completed transfer. Media outlets state that Lewandowski is also considering other options, including offers or inquiries from outside the United States. In previous weeks, clubs from Saudi Arabia and Italy were mentioned, and according to reports from several European media outlets, Pini Zahavi is simultaneously exploring various possibilities for the continuation of his client’s career. For that reason, a visit to Chicago, if confirmed, would be an important signal, but not automatic confirmation that a decision has been made.
Why leaving Barcelona changed the negotiating position
Lewandowski joined Barcelona in 2022 after eight seasons at Bayern, at a time when the Catalan club was going through a financially and sporting-wise demanding period. According to FC Barcelona’s official statistics page, he played 190 official matches for the first team and scored 116 goals, and with the club he won three Spanish league titles, three Spanish Super Cups and one Copa del Rey. These figures explain why his departure is not merely a routine change in the dressing room, but the end of a period in which he was one of the most important faces of Barcelona’s attack. Although his minutes decreased in the final season, his overall impact remained strong enough to retain the interest of clubs from several leagues.
The official confirmation of his departure from Barcelona also changed the tone of public statements from Chicago. While Lewandowski was still under contract, representatives of the American club were more cautious in their wording. In conversations reported by American and Spanish media, sporting director Gregg Broughton emphasized that he was a player of interest to MLS, but stressed that it was not appropriate to speak in detail about a footballer belonging to another club. After it became clear that the cooperation with Barcelona was coming to an end, head coach and director of football operations Gregg Berhalter spoke more openly about Fire’s interest, with the message that such an arrival would be big for the club, the city and the league.
Such statements carry weight because Berhalter is not only the first-team coach. Chicago Fire appointed him director of football and head coach in October 2024, which means he is responsible for the broader sporting project, and not only for weekly match preparation. In a club trying to build a more stable identity and stronger competitiveness in MLS, a player of Lewandowski’s profile would represent a move that goes beyond the classic filling of the centre-forward position. He would bring experience of working in top European structures, the habit of playing under pressure and a recognizability that could help attract new fans, sponsors and media attention.
MLS has special rules for transfers like this
Lewandowski’s possible arrival must also be viewed through the framework of Major League Soccer, which differs significantly from the European market. According to MLS rules for the 2026 season, teams may have up to 30 players on the active roster, while the league maintains a strict budget structure and special mechanisms for players whose earnings exceed the standard budget charge. The most important among them is Designated Player status, which allows clubs to bring in footballers whose total compensation and costs exceed the maximum amount that normally counts against the team budget. For a transfer of this magnitude, Chicago would almost certainly have to use exactly such a mechanism or a similar one.
According to the official MLS calendar, the secondary transfer window in the 2026 season runs from July 13 to September 2. This is important because Lewandowski’s contract with Barcelona expires at the end of June, and summer registration in MLS would fit in time with the second part of the American season. If an agreement were reached before the window opens, the club would have time to prepare administrative details, a marketing campaign and a sporting plan for his integration. But until there is a signed contract and official confirmation from the league or the club, every scenario remains conditional.
In recent years, MLS has increasingly used globally recognizable players to expand its reach, but at the same time the league is trying to balance star transfers with the long-term development of teams. In that sense, Lewandowski would fit into the group of players who bring immediate sporting impact and enormous international recognizability. For Chicago Fire, this would be a continuation of the ambition to make the club more relevant again on the national and international stage. The club’s history already includes experience with a major European name: Bastian Schweinsteiger arrived in Chicago in 2017, and MLS at the time presented his arrival as one of the league’s more significant reinforcements.
The Polish community in Chicago is an important part of the story
The marketing dimension of the possible transfer is especially pronounced because of the Polish community in Chicago. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and publicly available census tables on population ancestry, the area of Chicago and the state of Illinois is one of the most important centers of Polish-American life in the United States. In sporting terms, this means that Lewandowski would have in Chicago a rare combination of global-star status and a strong local cultural connection. Such a circumstance does not guarantee a transfer, but it explains why Fire in this case does not see only a footballer, but also a potential ambassador for the club.
According to media reports, Berhalter highlighted precisely that element when he spoke about the support the transfer could have in the Polish community and the wider Chicago area. For a club competing in a large American sports market, bringing in a player with such identification value could have effects on ticket sales, season tickets, media visibility and international interest. In MLS, where clubs often build local loyalty through specific communities and city identities, such a player profile can have greater value than goals alone.
At the same time, Chicago must be careful that marketing expectations do not overshadow the sporting assessment. Lewandowski is still a striker who requires a system adapted to his qualities: quality delivery of balls into the penalty area, support from wide and attacking midfield players, and a clear role in pressing and the defensive phase. His arrival would probably require tactical adjustments, but also careful workload management given his age and the rhythm of the MLS season, which includes long-distance travel, different climate conditions and a specific competition calendar.
Sporting value is accompanied by questions of risk
For Chicago Fire, the biggest argument for the transfer is the fact that Lewandowski, even in his late thirties, brings something that is difficult to find on the market: a proven ability to score goals in the most demanding matches. His career has been marked by continuity, and he built his reputation as a striker who does not depend exclusively on speed, but on movement, a sense of space, finishing and understanding of the game. These are precisely the characteristics that can last longer even after physical explosiveness naturally decreases. From that perspective, MLS could offer him a competitive environment in which he would still be very influential.
The risks, however, are obvious. A contract for a player of that age must be carefully structured, especially if it includes the status of one of the highest-paid players in the league. The club must assess how much Lewandowski could play, how quickly he would adapt to a different style of competition and how his arrival would affect the existing hierarchy in the dressing room. A high salary and star status also bring pressure for results, and a possible drop in form or injury would make such a move more expensive and more complex than with a younger player.
That is why Chicago, according to the available information, is trying to combine sporting and commercial interest with a realistic assessment. Fire already has attacking options, and any arrival of Lewandowski would have to be integrated into the existing roster and financial structure. MLS rules on Designated Players allow flexibility, but they do not remove the need for planning. The club cannot look at the transfer in isolation, but must take into account the balance of the team, long-term contracts, room for other reinforcements and the expectations of fans.
Lewandowski is choosing between a sporting challenge, family and the final stage of his career
For Lewandowski himself, the decision is not only a question of financial terms. After a career in which he won the biggest club trophies in Germany, was a key player for Bayern and Barcelona and carried the Polish national team for years, the next choice will probably depend on a combination of sporting project, family life and personal motivation. MLS can offer a different rhythm, a big stage in a country that is investing further in football and a market where Lewandowski could maintain global visibility. Chicago, at the same time, also offers a specific cultural dimension that other clubs can hardly replicate.
On the other hand, European or Saudi options could offer different financial or competitive arguments. Italian clubs, if they truly remain involved in the talks, could offer him a continuation in one of Europe’s strongest leagues, while the Saudi market has for several seasons been attracting experienced stars with high-value contracts. For that reason, it is not unusual that Lewandowski, according to media reports, does not want to rush a final decision. At this stage of his career, a wrong choice would not mean only one weaker season, but could determine the way his playing story ends.
At present, the most cautious formulation remains the most accurate: Chicago Fire is seriously working on bringing in Robert Lewandowski, but the transfer has not been officially confirmed. If the trip to Chicago and meetings with club officials take place, negotiations could move from the stage of interest to the stage of final decisions. Until the signature, registration and official announcement arrive, this remains one of the most important open questions of the MLS summer transfer period. For Fire, it could be a move that changes the perception of the club, for the league a new confirmation of global ambitions, and for Lewandowski an opportunity to play the last great chapter of his career in an environment that can offer him both a sporting role and a strong symbolic framework.
Sources:
- FC Barcelona – official announcement about Robert Lewandowski leaving at the end of the 2025/2026 season (link)
- FC Barcelona Players – official statistics of Robert Lewandowski’s appearances, goals and trophies in Barcelona (link)
- Barca Blaugranes – current report on the new phase of negotiations between Chicago Fire and Lewandowski and the alleged trip to Chicago (link)
- Barca Blaugranes – report on Gregg Berhalter’s statements and Chicago Fire’s interest in Lewandowski (link)
- AS USA – report on Chicago Fire’s interest, Gregg Broughton’s comments and the financial framework cited by Spanish media (link)
- Major League Soccer – official transfer windows for the 2026 season (link)
- Major League Soccer – official roster rules and explanation of Designated Player status for the 2026 season (link)
- Chicago Fire FC – official announcement on the appointment of Gregg Berhalter as director of football and head coach (link)
- Major League Soccer – archive report on Bastian Schweinsteiger’s arrival at Chicago Fire in 2017 (link)
- U.S. Census Bureau – census and demographic data used for the context of the Polish-American community in Chicago and Illinois (link)