Chicago Fire weigh Lewandowski bid to reshape MLS

Gregg Berhalter says Robert Lewandowski has been in the conversation as the Chicago Fire look to recruit world-class talent. The club is third in the Eastern Conference and has a +11 goal differential, while reports say the 37-year-old Poland star is touring t

The Chicago Fire didn’t wait for the standings to do the talking. They’re already reaching toward a player who, by any measure, would change the scale of their season.

On Saturday morning. the Fire’s director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter described an active push for elite talent. telling Kay Adams earlier this week that the club is “trying to recruit world class players. ” with no one bigger on their radar than Robert Lewandowski. Berhalter said there’s “no player that’s scored more goals in the last 15 years in the top five leagues than Robert Lewandowski. ” calling him an “absolute legend” and adding that he “would be a great signing not only for the Chicago Fire. but for the league to have a player of that caliber.” Berhalter went further. placing Lewandowski “right up there with [Lionel] Messi in terms of ability.”.

That ambition isn’t being treated like a fantasy. Berhalter disclosed that Lewandowski. 37. was en route to “touring the training ground” while appearing on FanDuel’s “Coaches’ Corner.” The details have urgency: Lewandowski left Barcelona last month. and the Fire want to make Chicago part of the next chapter before that window closes.

The timing matters for a club already moving in the right direction. The Chicago Fire sit in third behind Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer. with a goal differential of +11. For a franchise that has not hoisted the MLS Cup since 1998. the hunger to turn momentum into something bigger is unmistakable.

Lewandowski’s schedule, as described in a report, lines up with that push. The Athletic’s Tom Bogert and Paul Tenorio wrote that Lewandowski will be in Chicago all weekend, considering proposals from Chicago as well as the Saudi Pro League, and is expected to make a decision soon.

His recent career decisions set the scene for why the Fire’s pitch would land differently than it would for most clubs. Lewandowski bid farewell to Barcelona last month after winning three LaLiga titles over the past four years. Before Barcelona, he starred at Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga from 2014 to 2022.

There’s another benchmark hanging over the conversation, too: Messi. Since signing with Inter Miami in July 2023. Messi has become the reigning back-to-back MLS MVP and MLS Cup MVP. leading Miami to its first MLS Cup title last season. The Fire can’t control what happens next—but Berhalter’s comments make it clear they’re aiming for that kind of impact.

If Lewandowski does sign in Chicago. it would be a stunning statement for a franchise still waiting more than two decades for a trophy. And if he doesn’t. the groundwork already laid—standing in the third spot. boasting a +11 goal differential. and actively bringing a global superstar into the conversation—suggests the next attempt won’t be long in coming.

Chicago Fire Robert Lewandowski Gregg Berhalter MLS Eastern Conference Nashville SC Inter Miami CF goal differential FanDuel Coaches' Corner Lionel Messi Inter Miami