CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 20, 2026

Gregg Berhalter

Press Conference

Q. I think the big story today, yesterday in the Chicago Fire world is the impending departure of Cuypers. Could you walk us through what have the last couple days been like making a very difficult decision to send the Golden Boot leader way as a transfer mean, and how involved was the signing of Lewandowski in this decision?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think we want to be a club that looks after our players. We want to be a club that is also, I think, shrewd with our decision-making. You know, Hugo came to us and expressed a desire to -- to go elsewhere, and for us, it was finding good value in that deal. We knew that there's a couple things at play -- and by the way, the deal is not finalized yet. It's still being completed but we have an agreement in principle.

We think is gives us some flexibility now. For us, it's about now looking to strengthen the team in other areas, and I think we were excited about trying a 4-4-2. We thought it had potential.

Alas, we never actually get to see it on the field but it was good in context. In reality, if we have an opportunity to strengthen other areas, we can perhaps come out on the better end of this, and you know, his contract expired in 18 months. He has a one-year option.

For us, it was trying to get value. We paid a big sum for him and to try to get -- recoup some of those expenses and use those resources to strengthen the other areas was our -- was our idea, and at the same time, helping a player in his wishes. Hugo has been a great addition to this club. We are always going to remember his time here. Yeah, we move forward.

Q. One of the biggest bits of news was shifting to three designated players, three U-22 spots. How important was it to have a designated player shot open for potentially just a non-forward role over these next couple months, given it's Robert and that it was Hugo?

GREGG BERHALTER: Again, for us, it's what is the pathway to being a top team in this league and that's what we're looking at. I think you can make an argument that with two top strikers, you could potentially be a top team but you can also do it other areas.

For us, it's really looking hard and we have some targets to identify and it's really trying to bring in someone that can make an impact on the squad. Yeah, we like the flexibility now.

Q. What can you tell us about Robert's first days, and does his arrival bring you closer to the level of Inter Miami?

GREGG BERHALTER: Well we're going to see on Wednesday, right, where we are. I have a lot of respect for Inter Miami. They have a great squad. They will most likely be missing a couple players in Messi and De Paul, although you never know with Messi and De Paul. I wouldn't be surprised if they played in the game.

For us we just want to keep getting better. One thing I can tell you about Robert is tremendous work rate. We think about -- when you think about a guy coming into the team, jet lagged all last week and he's pushing the guys in training, we are doing fitness stuff, he's pushing that and doing extra work after. You can see why he's been a pro and why he's scored more goals than anyone in Europe in the last 15 years because he's an absolute pro, on the field. In the training sessions he's been high quality, scoring goals and he looks like a great player.

Q. I wanted to ask about Inter Miami. How much of a difference do you think there is with this team getting the rest, they had a lot of games prior to the break, and this is a restart of sorts, but they are most likely not going to play Messi or did he ball. How big a difference is that, and do you have a timetable for Robert, how many minutes he can play the next few weeks?

GREGG BERHALTER: We are going to see on Wednesday how long he can play. We're working towards that and get an opportunity ton Wednesday. In terms of Inter Miami, I think it would be a disservice to say what they are without Messi and De Paul.

They have a great roster, and Messi is a top player the league. So obviously he makes any team that much better but they have -- they have great players, and they are champions for a reason because they have a good mindset, good mentality, they compete.

For us, it's about how do we take advantage of some of their weaknesses that's what we're going to be looking to exploit.

Q. Back to the Hugo news for a second. Joe mentioned the roster changes, like the roster designation changes. How important is it for the team to bring in a third DP in this window?

GREGG BERHALTER: If you look at our team right now, it's the same except for Robert switching out for Hugo. And we've done fine up until then. You would think based on that equation, we would be better.

But I don't think that's stopping us from wanting to get even better from there. We were -- we were happy to play with Hugo and Robert and see how that worked, and we are also happy to explore the other pathway. It's hard for me to put a number exactly on how important it is. We want to be a team that's competing.

So we are going to do everything we can to do that.

Q. With regards to this recent change in the team, obviously the arrival of Robert last week and the departure of Hugo, how do you handle that from a man management standpoint in terms of training sessions and general sentiment amongst the group, especially given it's a double-game week and facing Inter Miami in a 6-pointer for the playoffs down the line?

GREGG BERHALTER: We are looking at the short, the mid and the long term in this move. Robert is going to have to play, right. That's why he's here. He's here to play games, and we are going to get him as much game time as he can hand until these next couple weeks, next couple months. We also played at times without Hugo and we played times without a No. 9. There's probably three or four games that he started -- that we started without a real No. 9.

So we are going to find a way to get it done and when we can add someone, we'll add that player. We think that the roster is in good shape right now.

Q. We didn't get a chance to ask during Robert's introduction the other day but curious if you can give insight into Franco's recovery and if we can expect the returning World Cup guys to be in the squad on Wednesday night.

GREGG BERHALTER: Yes, all the returning World Cup guys in the squad. Franco is doing on-field work. He's in Portugal and he'll be returning shortly but he's already on the field and we're hoping he could be back, available in the next couple months.

Q. Did Hugo express sole interest in Liga Mex, or was there other clubs that you had to work with? And the Miami model is to is surround Messi with his countrymen. Is this something you would do with Robert in getting Polish players or players he's played with?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think we want to add quality people, quality players to the roster. That's our focus. We are not specifically targeting players that have played with Robert or from Robert's country. We know he's a big piece of our team. We expect him to be the focal point of our attack, and we want to surround him with players that can help him be the most successful and help the team be the most successful.

In terms of suitors for Hugo, Monterrey was the club that came, and was the only club that came to us. And we dealt with them. We talked to Hugo about his wishes and that was the team he wanted to join and we made the deal happen.

If you compare it to Diego's deal, you know, a guy who scored over 30 goals in the last two years, to get the same type of deal, we think is a strong offer for Hugo.

Q. How involved would you like Robert to be in discussions when you're talking about players that you may be bringing in, and is a profile like Leon something that you guys are still looking at?

GREGG BERHALTER: I think Robert has a ton of experience. He's played with a number of players. He knows a lot of players. I think it would be foolish not to get his sentiment on potential candidates. So you know, of course we ask him, just like we ask all the other players who have played with a player and know them throughout their journey. The most important thing for us is getting the character size of it right. We have a great group of guys and a hard working group of guys and we need someone to come in who fits into that mold.

Q. He's been training for a couple weeks, Barroso, what are your expectations for him? One of those players that you can see the excitement but injuries have popped up over the last year?

GREGG BERHALTER: The expectation that he gets on the field and starts getting minutes. We are not sure exactly when but we know there's a busy schedule and we can envision him on the field sooner rather than later.