The winter transfer window has slammed shut across most of Europe, and the rumor mill will soon shift toward the continent’s top free agents. While the Chicago Fire seem to be linked with a new high-profile move every other week, there’s one rumor that doesn’t seem to go away: Robert Lewandowski.
It’s a story that, over the last seven years, has gone from speculation fueled by Chicago’s sizeable Polish influence to a very real and tangible rumor that will become one of the biggest stories in world soccer over the next few months. In addition to the forward rejecting a move to Saudi Arabia this January, Fire staff met with Lewandowski’s representative, famed Israeli super agent Pini Zahavi, in Barcelona late last year, and the forward’s wife, Anna Lewandowska, visited Chicago in November.
“I won't comment on his place in the Chicago Fire, but what I will say is that he's a fantastic player,” Fire Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter told MIR97 Media in a recent exclusive interview. “There is no player that has scored more goals in the last 15 years in the top five leagues than Robert Lewandowski. He does it everywhere he goes.”
“I’m a big fan of his. I've watched him for a while, and I'm sure if you like soccer and you like goals, then you like Robert Lewandowski.”
But why Lewandowski in particular? Under various sporting regimes, the Fire have dreamed of one day bringing in the now-37-year-old center forward, and believe he would be the perfect fit as the club’s next Polish superstar. Chicago is a city with a huge Polish population and is home to more Poles than any city in the world besides Warsaw. The club has had numerous Polish stars in the past, including Piotr Nowak, Jerzy Podbrożny, and Przemysław Frankowski, as well as locally raised dual-nationals like Gaga Słonina and David Poręba.
As the greatest Polish player of all time and someone who has captained Poland at two FIFA World Cups, he’s been a long-term Chicago target. Initial contact dates back to at least 2023, not long after his arrival at Spanish giants FC Barcelona, but talks have ramped up in recent months as his four-year deal comes to an end. The Blaugrana are also in an ever-perilous financial situation, making a renewal incredibly fiscally difficult.
In the complex game of global football transfers, the Fire also have a leg up on the rest of MLS in the agent realm. Zahavi, whose agency's client list includes Neymar Jr., Aleksandar Mitrović, Leroy Sané, and even Fire winger Philip Zinckernagel, has an established relationship with the Chicago hierarchy, having also previously met with billionaire owner Joe Mansueto in London last year.
Now, the links between Lewandowski and Chicago are swirling more than ever before, both in the European media and in MLS circles. It’s no longer just a pipe dream; what once felt fanciful now looks like a very distinct possibility, and with his free agency now taking center stage, an arrival as soon as July feels remarkably palpable.
The Search for a Superstar
Under Berhalter, the Fire’s transfer strategy has shifted from the pursuit of MLS-level talent to something much more ambitious. Aside from perhaps Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, no team has made more headlines on the global market than the Fire in the last 12 months.
The first breakthrough in this area was the infamous seven-day Neymar Jr. transfer saga, in which the Fire were right in the middle of the chase for arguably one of the top ten players of all time; a few months later, the club nearly signed Kevin de Bruyne as a free agent, and it later emerged that they made a push for Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as well. Just last week, rumors emerged from England that the Fire were in the hunt for Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, whose contract also expires in the summer.
Even if those moves didn’t or haven’t happened, the signal is clear: Berhalter wants a superstar. And not just a big name, but a true household name who could move the needle far beyond just footballing circles.
“I think in one sense, it definitely shows the ambition of the club,” Berhalter said. “We want to build something exciting for the city of Chicago. But it's also about the right person, and we don't want to be the type of club that gets linked with any big player that's on the market.”
“We want to be thoughtful about who we bring in. We want to bring in a player that can have an impact both on and off the field. And we want to build a team that can win and that can really get the people of Chicago to rally around us. That's not easy to find, and it's not easy to get some of these deals done, but we'll keep working.”
All of the names mentioned above check those boxes. Lewandowski, Neymar, de Bruyne, and Salah would all stand alongside Son Heung-min as the highest-profile stars in MLS behind Lionel Messi, while someone still in their prime like Silva would be able to challenge the Argentine for the league’s MVP award. Though he turns 38 this summer, Lewandowski is still one of the world’s only true elite number 9s, scoring 78 goals in 120 Barcelona appearances since 2022.
This would be the biggest signing in the Fire’s history, eclipsing both the local and global impact of Hristo Stoichkov, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Xherdan Shaqiri. With Berhalter’s connections and influence and Mansueto’s backing, these are the kinds of conversations the Fire are now in. And if Berhalter and Mansueto want to make a splash, there’s no better way than going all-in on one of the greatest players of all time, and Lewandowski – whose European résumé consists of Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayern München, and FC Barcelona – meets every criterion one could dream of.
And what about Hugo Cuypers?
While Lewandowski could slot right into the Fire’s lineup on day one and immediately be a success in MLS, there is one major ship in the bathtub. The Fire’s club-record signing and second-highest-paid player is also a center forward, Hugo Cuypers, and notched an impressive 21 goals last year in 2025.
Throughout his coaching career, Berhalter has almost exclusively used a one-striker formation. He did not start a single game with two center forwards last season, and did so just three times in 74 matches as USMNT manager. Conventional wisdom would dictate that Lewandowski’s arrival would almost certainly demote Cuypers, a top MLS striker in his prime, to the bench. Even a move to an unorthodox two-striker setup would likely limit the role of star wingers Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel, with a modern 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 proving totally incompatible with the current roster.
“I think ever since the coach took over in his dual role, he's been trying to bring a big name,” Cuypers said this week when asked about renewed rumors linking the Fire with a center forward like Lewandowski. “I would say it’s someone else to the list. But it's not something that throws me off, not at all. I think I'm just focused on myself, getting through preseason and being as fit as possible and getting the team to a level where we can compete from the start.”
The harsh reality is that even if there are feasible ways the Fire can execute MLS roster gymnastics to keep both Lewandowski and Cuypers on the roster together, such as keeping the Pole as a TAM player for his first half-season, similarly to Vancouver’s Thomas Müller, having two top strikers is not a long-term solution. The Fire do have a club option to renew Cuypers for another season, effectively tying him to the team until the end of 2027, but there’s an argument to be made that between his salary, cap space, and steadily decreasing market value, it may be worthwhile to cash in at the latest next winter, whether that’s on the domestic cash-for-player market or internationally.
Nonetheless, if the Fire can fulfill their long-standing dream of bringing Lewandowski to the Windy City, what happens to their current #9 is no longer the main concern. And for now, the Fire still have an experienced, talented, and focused MLS center forward to propel them forward from the opening day of the season.
