Poland’s all-time leading goal scorer joins the Fire from FC Barcelona with more than 700 goals for club and country
CHICAGO (June 29, 2026) – Chicago Fire FC today announced its acquisition of global football icon and Poland’s all-time leading goal scorer Robert Lewandowski as a Designated Player.
The prolific striker arrives in Major League Soccer (MLS) with one of the most decorated careers in the sport, having tallied more than 700 goals for his national team and top European clubs, most recently with FC Barcelona, where he helped the club capture the La Liga title last month, while leading the German and Spanish leagues in scoring for eight years. His arrival also underscores the Fire’s commitment to putting a top-quality team on the pitch – bringing world-class talent to compete for championships and elevate the Club’s global profile.
Lewandowski will occupy a Designated Player slot and an international roster spot, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate. His contract will run through the 2027-28 MLS season.
“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,” said Gregg Berhalter, Chicago FC Director of Football and Head Coach.
“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
The Fire welcome their newest striker as a linchpin of an already strong attack, which recorded a Club-record 68 goals in 2025 – the second-highest tally in the league. Lewandowski’s arrival comes as Chicago sits third in the Eastern Conference, just months after breaking ground on the Club’s new home, McDonald’s Park, slated to open in 2028, and following last year’s opening of the state-of-the-art Endeavor Health Performance Center.
Lewandowski, 37, becomes the eighth Poland-born player in Club history. The Fire, with six domestic trophies, have featured a cavalcade of international stars since 1998. He joins a distinguished list of icons to have donned the Fire red, including Ballon d’Or winner Hristo Stoichkov, World Cup champion Bastian Schweinsteiger, and fellow UEFA Champions League winner Xherdan Shaqiri.
A Legendary Career Continues
Lewandowski 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 in Germany with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern. In Spain with FC Barcelona, he added three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and three Supercopas. Individually, he has claimed the Best FIFA Men’s Player award twice (2020, 2021), been named Polish Footballer of the Year a record 13 times and earned a place on the IFFHS World Team of the Decade (2011–2020), while finishing as the top scorer in Germany seven times and in Spain once.
Spanning three decades, Lewandowski’s career began with a meteoric rise through four tiers of Polish football before becoming 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 FC Barcelona in 2022, winning a 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. Internationally, he has earned 167 caps for Poland since 2008, scoring a record 89 goals, appearing in two FIFA World Cups and four UEFA European Championships, and serving as national team captain since 2013.
Transaction: Chicago Fire FC acquires forward Robert Lewandowski as a Designated Player.
Name: Robert Lewandowski
Position: Forward
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 179 lbs.
Date of birth: August 21, 1988
Hometown: Leszno, Poland
Birthplace: Warsaw, Poland
Citizenship: Poland
Previous Club: FC Barcelona
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About Chicago Fire Football Club
Chicago Fire Football Club (Chicago Fire FC) is a professional soccer club that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS). One of the league’s first expansion teams – founded on Oct. 8, 1997 (the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire) – the Club has earned six major domestic trophies, including four U.S. Open Cups and the 2003 Supporters’ Shield, and returned to the playoffs in 2025, winning its first postseason match since 2009.
The Club began construction on its privately funded, soccer-specific stadium, McDonald’s Park, in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, a transformational new home set to open in 2028. The team currently plays at historic Soldier Field and trains at Chicago’s Endeavor Health Performance Center, a $100 million state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2025.
The Club’s development pathway includes Chicago Fire II, which competes in MLS NEXT Pro, and the Chicago Fire Academy, featuring five teams from U-13 to U-18. Off the field, the Chicago Fire Foundation – internationally recognized, including as ESPN’s 2019 Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year – has made significant contributions to enhance the lives of disadvantaged youth throughout Chicagoland, providing more than $10 million back to the community. For more information, visit chicagofirefc.com.
