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Xherdan Shaqiri and the Chicago Fire have agreed to a contract termination, bringing an end to the Switzerland midfielder’s disappointing spell at the MLS club, it was announced Wednesday.
Shaqiri joined Chicago from Lyon in 2022 for what ESPN reported was a then-club-record fee of of $7.5 million. At the time, he was the top earner in MLS on a salary of $8.15 million, before being usurped by Inter Miami duo Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets, as well as Toronto FC‘s Lorenzo Insigne.
“After discussions with Xherdan, we have mutually agreed that parting ways is in the best interest of all parties,” Chicago Fire FC sporting director Georg Heitz said in a club statement. “We thank him for his contributions to the Club and wish him success in the next chapter of his career.”
Shaqiri — who previously played for European heavyweights Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Liverpool — struggled to live up to that price tag and reputation in Chicago.
In 75 matches (63 starts) for the Fire across all competitions, he scored 16 goals and registered 20 assists. The Fire failed to make the MLS playoffs in 2022 and 2023 and currently sits 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference with nine games of the regular season remaining.
Shaqiri, who has won 125 caps for Switzerland, will now be a free agent.
“I believe this is the right time for me to explore new opportunities in my career,” Shaqiri added in the team release. “I want to thank the Club and the fans for their support during my time in Chicago. I wish the Fire nothing but success moving forward.”
Shaqiri’s departure comes two days after Chicago said that Heitz would depart his role as sporting director at the end of 2024 for personal reasons.