It’s been a brutal era for Chicago Fire fans. They last qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs in 2017 and finished dead last in the Eastern Conference last season.
This, in part, is why Tom Bogert’s bombshell scoop of the Fire’s “preliminary talks” with Neymar last week was so jarring.
As the reporting goes, The Chicago Fire were squaring up a mega deal to bring the Brazilian superstar in this January despite his contract with Al-Hilal expiring this summer.
The deal would have included a massive base salary complemented by potential sponsorship bonuses similar to the ones we saw with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami contract.
Ultimately, the Fire’s dream signing was doused by much stronger rumours linking Neymar with a romantic return to his boyhood club, Santos FC, back in Brazil.
In an instant, the ‘Jogo Bonito’ dreams for MLS fans everywhere were dashed.
But, for Chicago fans, there’s still reason to be optimistic about the 2025 season. Neymar or not, the Fire look to be cooking up something special.
A Fresh Start in the Gregg Berhalter Era
If you miss the playoffs for seven straight seasons in MLS, there’s an understandable urge to blow it all up and start over.
That’s more or less what Chicago have done in these last few years.
Since they last made the playoffs, the Fire have left their old home of SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview and returned to Solider Field in Chicago proper.
They’ve also changed their logo…twice.
Most recently, and perhaps most notably, they’ve brought in Gregg Berhalter as their new Director of Football and Head Coach.
It’s a heck of a re-org, as they’ve shifted their former head coach, Frank Klopas, to a role they’re calling, “Vice President of Football”, to serve alongside Berhalter.
While a controversial figure with the USMNT, Berhalter arrives with an impressive CV for a team of the Fire’s recent stature.
Above all, he’s a project manager, which echos exactly what the organization has been crying out for: an actual project, and one with direction.
Since his appointment, Berhalter has reiterated the sentiment of Chicago Fire as a “Sleeping Giant”, referencing the club’s willingness to spend and the huge market they inhabit.
They’re also opening their doors to a state-of-the-art training facility for the 2025 season, and are exploring opportunities to find a new soccer-specific stadium for the club to call home…again.
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Chicago’s Moves So Far
The biggest step Chicago have taken in preparation for 2025 is moving on their former big-money Designated Player, Xerdan Shaquiri.
The Swiss International, while undeniably talented, was simply not producing to the standard of his insane salary, which was the highest in MLS in the pre-Messi era.
They then went on to terminate the contract of another DP, Gaston Giménez, to open up further roster flexibility.
This flexibility was capitalized on immediately, and especially so with the open DP slots in mind.
While a half-court heave at Neymar stole the headlines, a shrewd snare of Jonathan Bamba almost flew under the radar. The Ivorian international will join from Celta Vigo for just $2m, having notably broken through with Lile’s Ligue 1-winning side back in 2021.
The skilled winger will join forces up top with Hugo Cuypers, a player Chicago fans should be happy to see stick around. The Belgian striker, who joined for a club record $12M from Gent last season, managed a decent 10 goals in his debut campaign.
While he didn’t light the world ablaze, the hope in Cuypers remains in the ‘eye test’. The goals he did manage were very no. 9-like in that they were close to the goal and almost always finished first-time.
It leads you to believe that, if you give him adequate service, he could rack up a proper goal tally. Cuypers didn’t have that service last year, but with Bamba now aiding in attack, those chances may just come around more often in 2025.
For good measure, they’ve also bolstered in defence with the signing of Jack Elliott, who brings some serious MLS pedigree to the back line after joining from Philadelphia Union.
If They Went for Neymar…What Could They Do Next?
But, it’d be weird if the Fire stopped with Jack Elliott, right? Because, even though Neymar is likely going to Santos, Chicago still gave this deal a real go.
They showed us that, at the very least, they have some serious money to throw around. With a DP slot still open and with the cash set aside for Neymar still unspent, it feels like Chicago could go after seemingly anyone willing to join.
And, at the risk of disrespecting one of the greatest players of this generation, there’s an argument to be made that Chicago could be better off without a player like Neymar.
While his talent and commercial impact would be unquestioned, his ability to stay healthy absolutely would be.
A torn ACL and a nasty hamstring injury have allowed him to make just 7 appearances with Al-Hilal in the 18 months he’s been at the club.
Given how badly he burned the Saudi side after that mega-deal, it feels like a significant risk to take for what would be one of the biggest paydays in MLS history.
But, if you’re not going after Neymar, who’s a realistic secondary option? After all, they don’t make many like him.
With Berhalter looking to awaken this “Sleeping Giant”, a needle-mover could be just what they need, but few people on this Earth can move the needle as Neymar does.
Perhaps they’ll go out and try to get the next best thing in the form of a different global superstar. Or, maybe they’ll take a page out of the Atlanta United playbook and spend big the next Thiago Almada.
Heck, maybe they go full MLS mode and utilize the new Cash Trade options to snag an Evander or Lucho Acosta.
With options aplenty, the world is Gregg Berhalter’s oyster in Chicago. And, if he can get it right, there are two potential redemption arcs in the works: one for the Fire, and another for himself.