Robert Lewandowski says he moved to the Chicago Fire because he "couldn't imagine" being at any European club other than Barcelona.
Lewandowski left Barcelona at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, having come to the end of his four-year contract.
He had joined the Blaugrana from Bayern Munich, having also previously played for Borussia Dortmund in the top five European leagues.
The 37-year-old made 193 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions, netting 120 goals in that time, and finished the LaLiga season as the club's top scorer with 14 goals.
Across his four seasons in LaLiga, the Pole won three LaLiga titles, including this season, as well as the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana three times.
He has since signed for Chicago, saying he needed a change from what he is used to, which is why he chose MLS.
"I decided that after Barcelona is over for me, I didn't want to stay in Europe," Lewandowski said in his first press conference since signing for the Fire.
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI IS COMING TO CHICAGO
— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) June 29, 2026
We have signed global soccer icon and Poland’s all-time leading goal scorer Robert Lewandowski as a Designated Player #cf97 pic.twitter.com/ML5zxz3hVk
"I didn't want to play anymore after Barcelona and a different club [in Europe]. From one side, of course, that was a difficult decision for me, for my family, to move outside of Europe.
"But from the other side, we know that we wanted to stay in a different club because of what we did in Barcelona. And I couldn't imagine myself in a new [European] club besides Barcelona."
Lewandowski has signed a two-year contract with Chicago, who are third in the Eastern Conference ahead of returning to league action following the World Cup break.
The striker has netted 629 goals in 869 club games. He has also plundered 89 goals for Poland.
And Lewandowski holds the record for the most goals in a single Bundesliga season, netting 41 goals in 29 top-flight appearances in the 2020-21 campaign for Bayern.