Hugo Cuypers has been the story of 2026 for the Chicago Fire. With 12 goals in just nine games, he’s leading MLS in goals and has scored in every single match he’s played in.
This incredible run has come amidst the backdrop of one of the biggest transfer stories in world football — with credible rumors for months linking the Fire with a deal for legendary Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski. Should the Fire have gone in for the former Dortmund, Bayern, and Poland forward, Cuypers almost certainly would be moved within the league, with MLS interest in a trade reportedly high should this happen.
“I’m playing here, I’m doing well,” Cuypers told MIR97 Media following Wednesday’s 3-1 win at D.C. United, in which the Belgian found the net for the ninth straight game. “Everything that’s being said outside is out of my control. It’s not something I focus on at all. I don’t care.”
While the wider footballing world views MLS merely through the lens of the superstars that it attracts, domestically, Cuypers is writing his own story and is enjoying by far his best season since arriving stateside. Just a third of the way through the season, he’s just six goals shy of his already impressive tally of 18 in the regular season last year.
After a last-place finish in 2024 and a 2025 where Cuypers still left something to be desired in terms of goalmouth consistency, the Belgian now looks every penny worth the record $12 million US that the Fire paid for him three Februaries ago.
It also comes in a moment where MLS has more top strikers than ever before. Sam Surridge, Petar Musa, and Julian Hall have been scoring for fun as of late, eight-figure signings like Emmanuel Latte Lath and Kévin Denkey play every week, and Inter Miami boast the remarkable South American duo of Luis Suárez and Germán Berterame... not to mention Lionel Messi, who is one goal behind Cuypers in the scoring charts.
“For me, the Golden Boot has always been a consequence of the work I put in,” Cuypers said. “Goals, of course, I want to score goals; of course I want to win the Golden Boot, that’s out of the question. But it's not a focus because I know what I have to put in to get there. For me, it's a reward and a consequence, not a goal, if that makes sense.”
Most importantly for the Fire, Cuypers plays like he talks. What has made him so valuable to the team over the last two seasons has been the way he's been involved in all facets of the game, not just goalscoring. Whether that be the build-up, pressing, or dropping deeper to combine with teammates, he's emerged as an all-around complete forward, making the players around him better.
With MLS All-Star voting also open this week, Cuypers finally has the chance to get the league-wide recognition he deserves. As he is sitting atop the goalscoring charts, it should be a no-brainer that he will make the team, either as a result of fan-voting or as a coach's selection.
“It's a great record,” Gregg Berhalter said of Cuypers' scoring streak. “It's pretty clear that he's an All-Star. I think that it should be just a formality in terms of the voting because he's so impactful. He's stretching his record to nine games. It's really impressive. He's important for the team.”
