Back on May 16, FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season. On Friday, we learned what his next destination might be.
According to multiple reports, Lewandowski is on his way to the beautiful city of Chicago, Illinois, USA this weekend.
🚨✈️ Robert Lewandowski, on his way to the US with his agent Pini Zahavi to decide on move to Chicago Fire. 🇺🇸
MLS side pushing to get it done, Lewandowski to consider this option as @wlodar85 reported.
Understand contract offered valid for two or three years, up to Robert. pic.twitter.com/LzQsN7FK6q
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 12, 2026
The Fire are interested in both Lewandowski and his former teammate at Bayern Munich, Leon Goretzka, according to The Athletic. And according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Lewandowski is bringing his agent with him.
This is not a done deal, by any means, but it could be getting pretty close. The Major League Soccer club is the front-runner to sign the man who is Poland’s all-time leading scorer.
There is also reported interest from the Saudi Pro League, who could probably easily outbid the Fire. However, this signing makes a lot of sense for Chicago, and Lewandowski, in ways that you might not immediately conceive.
He’s 37, long past his prime and moving to a club that already has a stellar, established striker.
Hugo Cuypers continues to greatly exceed expectations, as he keeps banging in the goals for the Men in Red.
Cuypers will even be starting the MLS All-Star game, as he leads the league in scoring.
However, Chicago is home to the largest concentration of ethnic Poles outside of Poland itself, with an estimated 720,000-900,000 residents of Polish ancestry in the greater metropolitan area.
So this is really more of a selling merch and filling up the stadium kind of signing. There is nothing wrong with that, as it’s a natural fit for all involved.
Lewandowski would be right up there with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Xherdan Shaqiri as the biggest brand name players in Fire history. Obviously, the Schweinsteiger signing worked out a whole lot better than the Shaqiri addition did.
As for Goretzka coming along too, well, this is a transfer situation that is much more in early days than Lewandowski.
At least according to the Daily Herald, who also point out that the competition is stiffer to sign Gortezka.
The 31-year-old midfielder, currently a free agent with his time at Bayern Munich coming to an end, is wanted by teams all across Europe.
Lewandowski and Goretzka played together at Bayern from 2018-2022.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.