MLS Club Emerges as Early Favorite to Sign Kevin De Bruyne, per Report | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne’s future remains as foggy as ever, but if he lands in MLS, it won’t likely be alongside Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF.

On Thursday, The Athletic reported that the Manchester City midfielder is most likely to sign with Chicago Fire FC if he opts to make his way across the Atlantic Ocean. While Miami continues to hold his MLS Discovery Rights, Chicago has the opportunity to negotiate with the midfielder and potentially line up a trade for his rights as well.

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As much as Miami could use the Belgian creative midfield, they are hamstrung by their ample spending on Designated Players through 2025. They would have only been able to offer De Bruyne a maximum of $871,875 for the rest of the season.

Chicago has roster flexibility, however, and were one of three teams initially reported to be interested in landing De Bruyne, alongside Miami, D.C. United and New York City FC. Currently, Chicago has two Designated Players in Jonathan Bamba and Hugo Cuypers, and would be able to add De Bruyne on a high salary.

Hugo Cuypers has led the Chicago Fire FC attack with seven goals in 2025 / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Tactically, De Bruyne would allow Chicago to take the next step forward under former U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter, joining an attack led by fellow Belgian in Cuypers, and driven on the wings by Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel.

Berhalter spoke to ESPN about the potential of adding a player in a similar position to De Bruyne, but never mentioned the Belgian's name, saying: "There's a salary cap, there's a limited amount of designated players. So I think the most sense is to bring in an attacking player."

"Someone that can change the game consistently from an attacking end and can work with the offensive weapons we already have to bring out more in them and help them continue and overall help the team both on and off the field."

Through 10 games of the 2025 MLS season, Cuypers sits tied for the Golden Boot with seven goals, with Chicago longing for an elite playmaker to create more chances for him to finish.

Chicago would not be new to signing a player of De Bruyne’s stature, either and has ambitious ownership under Joe Mansueto. In the last decade, they’ve inked FC Bayern Munich legend Bastien Schweinsteiger and Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri after signing Hristo Stoichkov, the 1994 Ballon d’Or winner from 2000-2002.

The Fire have not made the MLS Cup Playoffs since 2017. They currently sit 11th in the Eastern Conference, two points behind New York City FC for the ninth and final spot in the postseason.

However, although Chicago may have the inside track, De Bruyne could continue to be swayed by other European interest, or a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia.