Chicago Fire Exercise Buyout on Arnaud Souquet's Contract

The Chicago Fire’s roster is taking shape ahead of the 2025 Major League Soccer season, but one defender will no longer be with the club when the season begins.

Chicago waived and exercised its ability to buyout defender Arnaud Souquet’s guaranteed contract for the 2025 MLS season, opening a senior roster spot for the Fire in 2025. Souquet’s salary will not count against the Fire’s 2025 MLS budget.

The move comes as no surprise as the club had been looking for ways to move on from Souquet for over a year.

Souquet joined the Fire on a free transfer from Montpellier in France in January 2023. He made 51 MLS appearances (43 starts) over two seasons with the Fire but his on-field production didn’t match the value of his contract, a crucial factor in the success of any MLS side.

This move was inevitable, particularly once the Fire gave newcomer Leonardo Barroso the number two kit that Souquet had worn the previous two seasons.