Lewandowski agrees to join Chicago Fire after leaving Barcelona as a free agent
Robert Lewandowski has agreed to join Chicago Fire, the latest global star to choose Major League Soccer in the closing stretch of a glittering career.
Jun 29, 2026
Robert Lewandowski is heading to Major League Soccer. The 37-year-old has agreed to join Chicago Fire, according to widespread reports this week, becoming the latest global name to swap the European elite for the United States after leaving Barcelona as a free agent at the end of the season.
What Chicago have agreed
The deal is reported to be a two-year contract with an option for a third season, and it will make Lewandowski one of the highest-paid players in the league. Transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano said the striker had agreed to the move after visiting Chicago a fortnight ago and was set to sign in the coming days. The club is pushing to finish the paperwork quickly, with the Fire hopeful of having him available for a mid-July home fixture against Vancouver.
Lewandowski had no shortage of suitors. He was reportedly wanted in Europe and the Middle East, with Saudi Arabian clubs said to be offering far richer terms, yet he chose the project in Chicago instead. It echoes the move that brought Lionel Messi to Inter Miami in 2023, with the American league increasingly the destination of choice for decorated forwards in the closing stretch of their careers.
The end of the Barcelona chapter
The switch closes a four-year stay at Barcelona that brought a remarkable return even by Lewandowski’s standards. He scored more than 100 goals across four seasons at Barcelona after arriving from Bayern Munich in 2022, and he announced his exit on social media on May 17, ahead of his final home game at the Spotify Camp Nou.
“After four years full of challenges and hard work, it’s time to move on,” he wrote. “I leave with the feeling that the mission is complete.” Because his contract expired rather than being sold on, Chicago can sign him without paying a transfer fee.
What the Fire are getting
Even at 37, Lewandowski remains one of the most dependable finishers in the game. Poland’s all-time leading scorer and long-serving captain, he made his name at Borussia Dortmund and then Bayern Munich, where he won the Champions League in 2020 and tore through the Bundesliga scoring records before his move to Spain. Chicago, who have struggled to make an impression in MLS in recent seasons, are betting that his finishing and his profile can lift both their results and their reach.
Whether a 37-year-old can carry an MLS side across a full campaign is a fair question, though it is one Messi has answered convincingly since his own switch. For now, Chicago have landed a name few in the league can match, and they will be hoping the goals follow.