MLS club doing everything possible to convince Barcelona veteran over summer move

Chicago Fire are mounting an all-out effort to lure Robert Lewandowski to Major League Soccer once his Barcelona deal expires on 30 June, sources close to the negotiations have told ESPN.

The 37-year-old Poland captain has yet to decide where he will play next season, with lucrative proposals on the table from Saudi Arabia and the United States. Yet it is the Illinois outfit that has moved most aggressively, targeting not only the striker but also his wife, Anna, with a comprehensive off-pitch support package designed to ease a trans-Atlantic relocation.

“Chicago is 100 percent committed to signing him,” said Janusz Michallik, the former United States international and long-time Fire observer. “They are trying hard to convince him and his wife. Anna knows that she will receive all kinds of support for her professional development in Chicago.”

Michallik, who remains well-connected to both the club and the Lewandowski camp, indicated that the Middle East has already been ruled out by the family on lifestyle grounds, while a return to Germany or remaining in Spain with any club other than Barcelona has been dismissed. Paris Saint-Germain’s project under Luis Enrique is said to favour a different profile of forward, and the veteran is not thought to fit the current plans of England’s leading sides. Italy represents the only European alternative should Lewandowski opt to stay on the continent.

Nevertheless, the player’s first choice is to prolong his stay at Camp Nou. “If Barcelona offers Robert a contract for next season, there will be no discussion whatsoever,” Michallik stressed. “Chicago Fire is only an option to consider if Robert leaves Barça.”

Aware that time is not on their side, Fire officials have presented the move as a chance for Lewandowski to reinvent himself in a league where he would instantly become the marquee name. “At 38 he would arrive somewhere where he would be the centre of attention,” Michallik added. “For Robert, it would be like a kind of start to a new career.”

While Lewandowski has requested additional time to weigh his future, Chicago’s pursuit comes with a deadline. Club hierarchy, intent on building what Michallik termed a “superclub,” are simultaneously exploring contingency targets should the Polish striker opt elsewhere.

For now, the ball rests firmly in Barcelona’s court: produce a new deal and Lewandowski will stay; decline, and the Fire believe they can secure one of football’s most prolific scorers for the MLS stretch run.