Kevin De Bruyne to the Chicago Fire? What We Know So Far About a Potential Deal

The Chicago Fire still have a Designated Player slot at their disposal and the club is swinging for the fences with their desired acquisition.

The Fire are trying to sign Manchester City and Belgium National Team midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, according to Fabrizio Romano, after he departs from the Premier League at the end of their season next month. The deal would be a free transfer for Chicago as De Bruyne’s contract with Manchester City expires at the conclusion of the current Premier League campaign.

Should Chicago come to an agreement with De Bruyne, they would still need to acquire his MLS Discovery Rights, which Inter Miami possesses, according to The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio. Chicago has also shown a willingness to meet De Bruyne’s eight-figure contract demands, according to Men In Red 97’s Alex Calabrese, a number that reportedly wouldn’t be met by other MLS clubs. Should the Fire sign him to his expected salary of around $12 million, he would be the third-highest player in MLS behind Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Toronto FC’s Lorenzo Insigne.

The Athletic also reported that Inter Miami, NYCFC and D.C. United have interest in signing De Bruyne this summer. 

De Bruyne, who turns 34 in June, is one of the most decorated Belgian soccer players ever. A six-time Premier League champion who won the Champions League with Manchester City in 2022-2023, De Bruyne generated 387 goal contributions in club competitions during his career and another 72 goal contributions for the Belgian National Team.

Joe’s Thoughts

De Bruyne would be a massive coup for the Fire commercially and he has the talent to create chances with ease from the midfield in Major League Soccer.

Chicago would be committing major amounts of cash to the aging midfielder, who would raise the offense’s floor while making things more difficult for the Fire’s backline as he isn’t much of a defender at this point of his career.

Gregg Berhalter told me last week that the Fire were trying to make a major addition and adding Kevin De Bruyne would make Chicago one of the more marketable clubs in the league while also making them more exciting on the pitch.