Barcelona one step closer to Alvarez as huge Lewandowski offer arrives

Tom Weber

• Updated: 10 Feb 2026 16:28 GMT
• 4 min read

News

The Chicago Fire are going "all out" for Robert Lewandowski, meaning that Barcelona will have to intensify their pursuit of a new striker, with Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez their top target.

The Blaugrana are widely expected to move on from Lewandowski when his contract expires this summer. The 37-year-old continues to feature regularly under Hansi Flick, but his influence has understandably waned this season.

Recent reports have posited that Barcelona could look to offer the Poland international a new contract on reduced terms, but according to the latest from Sport, this appears unlikely.

Current ETV

Robert Lewandowski

F (C)

Barcelona

Robert Lewandowski

F (C)

Barcelona

€8.6M

ETV Range

€7.3M - €9.9M

View full profile

The Catalan outlet reports that Lewandowski's next move is already fully in the works, with the Chicago Fire finally formalising their long-standing interest in the striker. The former Bayern star has been linked with the Illinois franchise for years.

In November, his wife, Ana Lewandowska, was spotted in a Chicago residential area, giving rise to rumours that she had begun house-hunting in the city. Shortly thereafter, it was claimed that a delegation from the club had arrived in Barcelona.

Chicago make Lewandowski offer

Pini Zahavi, who represents Lewandowski, has close ties with the Fire as he is also the agent of winger Philip Zinckernagel, and he reportedly met with franchise owner Joe Mansueto in London a few weeks ago.

The Spanish publication, citing "sources in Chicago," now claims that the Fire have made their first "firm" contract proposal to Lewandowski, offering him a two-year deal with an undisclosed salary "befitting his new role as a star player for the franchise."

The Fire have been trying to sign a global superstar for years. They were in talks with Neymar and Kevin de Bruyne in 2025 and reportedly were also among the clubs showing an interest in Mohamed Salah recently.

Lewandowski would be the biggest star to join the Fire since Bastian Schweinsteiger in 2017, although Xherdan Shaqiri was certainly also a household name when he arrived in 2022.

Culturally, Lewandowski would be a perfect fit for the franchise. Chicago has the largest Polish community in the US, and the Fire have had numerous high-profile Polish players, including dual nationals like Chelsea's Gabriel Slonina, on their books.

While a deal is far from done, the report states that it is looking increasingly likely that Lewandowski will end up in MLS. For Barcelona, this would mean that a new striker definitely must be signed this summer.

Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez is their top target. He is understood to prefer a move to Catalunya over Arsenal and Chelsea, but doubts remain as to how the Blaugrana would finance a deal for the Argentine, who is expected to cost north of €100 million.

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