Robert Lewandowski Signs for Chicago Fire from Barcelona

Chicago Fire FC have announced the signing of Robert Lewandowski as a Designated Player, bringing Poland’s all-time leading goalscorer to Major League Soccer after his departure from FC Barcelona. The 37-year-old arrives with more than 700 goals for club and country, having most recently helped Barcelona claim the La Liga title last month.

The striker’s move to MLS is subject to receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate. Chicago Fire director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter said the signing reflects the ambitions he and owner Joe Mansueto set out for the club.

“From the day Joe Mansueto and I met for the first time, we set out to build a world-class club that inspires greatness, unites Chicago and wins championships. Robert embodies those values and represents the standards this city deserves: a champion and a competitor. His arrival reinforces our ambition to compete for trophies and raises the standards for the club to heights worthy of this city. We cannot wait to get to work with him and have Chicago see first-hand why he is among the most revered sporting icons in the world.”

A new era for the Fire

Lewandowski becomes the eighth Poland-born player in Chicago Fire history, joining a club that has featured a string of international stars since 1998 and has won six domestic trophies. He arrives at a Fire side that recorded a club-record 68 goals in 2025, the second-highest tally in MLS, and currently sits third in the Eastern Conference.

The signing lands just months after the club broke ground on its new home, McDonald’s Park, slated to open in 2028, and follows last year’s opening of the state-of-the-art Endeavor Health Performance Center. Lewandowski joins previous icons to have worn Fire red, including Ballon d’Or winner Hristo Stoichkov, World Cup champion Bastian Schweinsteiger and UEFA Champions League winner Xherdan Shaqiri.

One of the game’s great goalscorers

Lewandowski’s career spans three decades, beginning with a rapid rise through four tiers of Polish football before he became the figurehead of Borussia Dortmund’s golden era and later a dominant force at Bayern Munich, where he scored 238 goals in 253 appearances and became the Bundesliga’s all-time leading foreign scorer. He joined Barcelona in 2022, winning the league title in his first season and becoming one of only three players to score 100 goals for three different clubs, while rising to third on the all-time UEFA Champions League scoring list.

At club level he has won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with Bayern Munich, along with 10 Bundesliga titles, four DFB-Pokal trophies and six DFL-Super Cups across his spells at Dortmund and Bayern. At Barcelona he added three La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey and three Supercopas. Individually, he has won the Best FIFA Men’s Player award twice, in 2020 and 2021, been named Polish Footballer of the Year a record 13 times, and earned a place on the IFFHS World Team of the Decade for 2011 to 2020. He finished as the top scorer in Germany seven times and in Spain once.

Internationally, Lewandowski has earned 167 caps for Poland since 2008, scoring a record 89 goals, appearing at two FIFA World Cups and four UEFA European Championships, and serving as national team captain since 2013.

CategoryDetail
Full nameRobert Lewandowski
PositionForward
Height6’1″
Weight179 lbs
Date of birth21 August 1988
HometownLeszno, Poland
BirthplaceWarsaw, Poland
CitizenshipPoland
Previous clubFC Barcelona

Lewandowski’s move continues a trend of decorated Bundesliga alumni arriving in MLS, and adds another marquee name to a league already boasting some of the highest-profile goalscorers in its history.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some of the most common questions surrounding Robert Lewandowski’s move to Chicago Fire.