Lewandowski Heads to Chicago, Home to America’s Largest Polish Community

The Polish striker joins a city that, for generations, has been one of the most important capitals of Polonia worldwide.

For now, the deal remains verbal, with no official announcement from the club. However, today’s reports suggest that after four years in Barcelona, Lewandowski will leave as a free agent on June 30 and continue his career as an MLS player for the Chicago Fire.

Chicago Fire FC transfer details

After speculation and offers made by clubs from various leagues such as the Premier League in the United Kingdom, Serie A in Italy or the Saudi Pro League, it was the United States through MLS and Chicago Fire that has finally closed the deal for the legendary striker.

According to reports, the parties have agreed to a two-year contract with an option to extend for a third season, and the striker’s annual earnings are expected to exceed 10 million euros. It should be noted that some offers from other clubs exceeded 90 million euros, suggesting that a potential relocation to Chicago offered something more compelling than a large salary to the striker. (Lewandowski being no stranger to rejecting astronomical salaries to accept relatively modest offers, no more than a year ago he had reportedly turned down a package worth more than 100 million euros a year, fielded jointly by Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr through a Saudi investment fund, instead choosing to play one more season at Barcelona).

Why Chicago means so much to Polonia and what Lewandowski would mean for the city

Chicago is still one of the places in America where the Polish language can be heard on the streets and in the churches, Polish food tasted in countless bakeries and restaurants and Polish culture is kept alive through generations of Polish families and now a Polish legend in American soccer. For Chicago, Lewandowski’s arrival is more than a legendary striker offering goals, prestige and marketing, it is a source of pride and a reason for sports fans otherwise uninterested in MLS inside and outside of Polonia to pay attention to Chicago Fire and MLS as a whole. For a country that is in the midst of a boom of soccer interest due to the World Cup, the transfer couldn’t be any more timely.

Awaiting the signature

While it is hard to imagine the deal falling through at this point, until the official club announcement and the contract signing, these reports technically confirm an agreement, not a finalized transfer. If they are accurate, the signing is expected to be a formality early next week. We will then return with full confirmation and details.

In the meantime, for anyone watching the World Cup supporting the United States, the team meets Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, July 1, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, after topping Group D thanks to wins over Paraguay and Australia despite a last-minute 3-2 loss to Turkey on Thursday, June 25th.

More from Poland.us

If you want to read our earlier coverage, back when this was still just a rumor and we asked whether Chicago really had a shot at such a marquee signing, click here: “Is Chicago Really Waiting for Lewandowski? A Transfer Where Polonia Is at Stake.” And if you’d appreciate our Polish-American perspective, Polskie Radio 24 in Warsaw interviewed us on the business angle of a potential signing, where between Lewandowski’s tech investments and Anna’s wellness brands, we made the point that he wouldn’t be starting from scratch over here, that segment is here.

Arthur Skok
Sports Editor, Poland.US