According to sources familiar with the travel plans, Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, one of the game's most prolific scorers over the past two decades, is currently en route to Chicago amidst continued links to the Chicago Fire.
Although sources familiar with the situation stress that no deal has been signed between the MLS club and player, reports are that billboards along the highway from O’Hare to downtown Chicago are displaying ads from the Fire welcoming the Polish international to the city. According to emails shown to MIR97 Media, Fire supporters have also been asked to gather for an unspecified "special fan moment” this Sunday at Recess, the West Loop site of the Fire’s World Cup watch parties.
In addition to the Fire, there has also been rumored interest in the striker from other suitors including Manchester United as well as clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Although the Fire cannot offer the potential for play in the UEFA Champions League like Manchester United nor the generous financial terms that a Saudi club could offer, club sources have previously believed that they can put together a compelling offer for player and family that capitalizes on Chicago’s large Polish population, the world’s second largest after Warsaw.
Over the past two decades, Lewandowski, 37, has been one of the most prolific scorers in global soccer, scoring over 500 goals for clubs and country, playing for several clubs in Poland before moving to Germany to play for Borussia Dortmund and then Bayern Munich, where he became a club legend, where he scored 344 goals, including a record 41 goals during their 2020-2021 campaign.
He is also a two-time winner of the European Golden Shoe, two-time FIFA Men’s Best Player award winner, a runner up for the Ballon d’Or, and the third most-prolific goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history, where his 109 goals put him behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lewandowski has been linked with the Fire several times over nearly a decade, but a move never seemed like a realistic possibility until recently. Lewandowski’s agent, Pini Zahavi, has a well-documented relationship with the Fire. The famed Israeli super agent met with Joe Mansueto last January to discuss a potential move to Chicago for one of his other high-profile clients, Brazilian legend Neymar Jr., who ultimately joined Santos instead.
Although in that case, discussions including Zahavi and the Fire did not result in a signing, sources have long said that the discussions were serious and advanced significantly before Neymar’s decision to return to his homeland. Additionally, Zahavi’s agency represents Fire winger Philip Zinckernagel.
This visit is also not the first trip that a member of Lewandowski’s family has made to Chicago since the pursuit intensified in recent months. Robert’s wife, Anna Lewandowska, visited the Windy City during the winter on a trip which included meetings with members of the club’s staff. During that time, Lewandowska also featured on Polish television, highlighting the crossover commercial potential that Chicago can offer.
Several of Lewandowski’s old FC Bayern München teammates, including Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Jamal Musiala, and Leroy Sané, were all in the area as part of the German national team for their friendly last week with the United States. The German delegation left incredibly positive reviews of Chicago both publicly and privately, which could bode well should Lewandowski seek insight from former teammates. Lewandowski was also a teammate of former Chicago Fire players Xherdan Shaqiri and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Discussion surrounding Lewandowski’s potential move to MLS has ramped up in the last month after FC Barcelona, his current club, confirmed that they would not be renewing the player’s contract after this season, where he saw his starts reduced to 17 from 32 from the previous season, resulting in Lewandowski playing roughly 1,000 minutes fewer than he did during the previous year.
Soon after it became clear that Lewandowski would be a free agent, Fire Head Coach and Director of Football Gregg Berhalter discussed the club’s pursuit last month following a road win in Montréal, acknowledging an interest in the player in January.
Berhalter told media that it was “no secret” the Fire were after Lewandowski, who he also said would be a great striker partner for current MLS Golden Boot leader Hugo Cuypers, who, along with Lewandowski and French winger Jonathan Bamba, would fill the Fire’s three Designated Player (DP) slots.
