Multiple club ownership
Chicago Fire FC owner and chairman Joe Mansueto has purchased Swiss Super League club FC Lugano. The Major League Soccer side made the deal official via a press release on Wednesday morning.
Teams compared: Chicago Fire’s squad at a glance / FC Lugano’s squad at a glance
“We now have a partner club where, when permitted, players can move between clubs – from Chicago to Lugano and vice versa,” said Mansueto in a club statement. “The Clubs will support one another and share best practices. We want to bring joy to the fans of Lugano and continue to grow the club. I’d like to thank our sporting director Georg Heitz for his hard work and vision to acquire FC Lugano. We are fully committed to investing in both of our teams, and we’re extremely excited about the future.”
The Fire have strong links to Switzerland. Sporting director Heitz and current head coach Raphael Wicky are Swiss and have worked together for several years at Super League giant FC Basel. Mansueto, in the meantime, acquired the MLS founding member in September 2019 and moved the club back to Soldier Field.
After the July 2021 update – The 25 most valuable MLS players
25 Efraín Álvarez | $5.5 million | Los Angeles Galaxy
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24 Cole Bassett | $5.5 million | Colorado Rapids
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23 Gustavo Bou | $6.6 million | New England Revolution
© Matt Stith/MLS
22 Jonathan Osorio | $6.6 million | Toronto FC
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21 Mark-Anthony Kaye | $6.6 million | Colorado Rapids
© Devin L’Amoreaux and Jared Martinez/MLS
20 Hany Mukhtar | $6.6 million | Nashville SC
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19 Marcelino Moreno | $6.6 million | Atlanta United
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18 Santiago Sosa | $6.6 million | Atlanta United
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17 Brian Rodríguez | $6.6 million | Los Angeles FC
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16 Victor Wanyama | $7.15 million | Montreal Impact
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15 Rodolfo Pizarro | $7.7 million | Inter Miami CF
© Xavier Dussaq/MLS
14 Tajon Buchanan | $7.7 million | New England Revolution
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13 Carlos Vela | $8.8 million | Los Angeles FC
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12 Raúl Ruidíaz | $8.8 million | Seattle Sounders
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11 Yeferson Soteldo | $8.8 million | Toronto FC
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10 Talles Magno | $8.8 million | New York City FC
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9 Alan Pulido | $9.9 million | Sporting Kansas City
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8 Brenner | $9.9 million | FC Cincinnati
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7 Alejandro Pozuelo | $11 million | Toronto FC
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6 Lucas Zelarayán | $11 million | Columbus Crew
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5 Emanuel Reynoso | $11 million | Minnesota United
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4 Ezequiel Barco | $11 million | Atlanta United
© Katie Gillen/Atlanta United
3 Daryl Dike | $11 million | Orlando City FC
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2 Josef Martínez | $13.75 million | Atlanta United
© Atlanta United Photos
1 Diego Rossi | $19.8 million | Los Angeles FC
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Chicago Fire Lugano partnership the latest cooperation deal in MLS
Founded in 1908, Lugano have a long history in the Swiss Super League and have not been relegated since 2015. The Swiss club now becomes the latest European team being involved in a cooperation deal with a Major League Soccer side. The Saputo family that owns CF Montréal also own Serie A side Bologna FC. Bundesliga side 1899 Hoffenheim have a cooperation deal in place with FC Cincinnati. VfL Wolfsburg have recently signed a sponsorship agreement with Chattanooga FC. Finally, Transfermarkt understands that Bayer Leverkusen are in advanced talks with an MLS club as well.
Giménez, Nikolics, Aliseda & Co.: Chicago Fire FC’s record arrivals
Boris Sekulic | Signed from Górnik Zabrze in 2020 | Fee: $440,000
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C.J. Sapong | Signed from Philadelphia Union in 2019 | Fee: $440,000
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Dax McCarty | Signed from New York Red Bulls in 2017 | Fee: $440,000
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Marcelo | Signed from Sporting CP in 2019 | Fee: $484,000
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Dipsy Selolwane | Signed from Vejle BK in 2003 | Fee: $550,000
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Luka Stojanovic | Signed from FK Cukaricki in 2020 | Fee: $550,000
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Piotr Nowak | Signed from 1860 Munich in 1998 | Fee: $594,000
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Shaun Maloney | Signed from Wigan Athletic in 2015 | Fee: $649,000
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Chinonso Offor | Signed from FK RFS in 2021 | Fee: $836,000
© FK Rīgas Futbola Skola
Przemyslaw Frankowski | Signed from Jagiellonia in 2019 | Fee: $1.65m
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David Accam | Signed from Helsingborgs IF in 2015 | Fee: $2.2m
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Robert Beric | Signed from AS Saint-Étienne in 2020 | Fee: $2.2m
© Major League Soccer
Ignacio Aliseda | Signed from Defensa y Justicia in 2020 | Fee: $3.3m
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Nemanja Nikolics | Signed from Legia Warszawa in 2017 | Fee: $3.3m
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Gastón Giménez | Signed from Vélez Sarsfield in 2020 | Fee: $4.5m
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Federico Navarro | Signed CA Talleres in 2021 | Fee: $5m
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