The Chicago Fire Post
Market30 Nov 2026
Jonathan Bamba has his eye on Europe
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Chicago Fire can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Chris Brady in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chicago Fire this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
149% of the income goes out in wages at Chicago Fire
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
André Franco wants to go home
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Chicago Fire can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Jack Elliott gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Chris Brady asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Chris Mueller's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Maren Haile-Selassie gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Maren Haile-Selassie is on it.
Market30 Nov 2026
Mbekezeli Mbokazi linked with a move away
The name of Mbekezeli Mbokazi keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Chicago Fire say nothing, which says plenty.
In brief
- Market The clock does Jason Shokalook’s negotiating for him
- Squad Anton Salétros is training like a man with a point to make
- Squad Dylan Aaronson back in training