The international attacking midfielder has joined the Chicago Fire, the club playing in MLS, the North American football league, announced on Wednesday.
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For Xherdan Shaqiri, Ligue 1 is over. It is through a video posted by the American club on its Twitter account, in which the player addresses his future fans – “see you soon Chicago” -, that the transfer was formalized, Wednesday, February 9.
You see that chair? It means he’s BEAR. pic.twitter.com/hUot38CUAa
— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) February 9, 2022
OL confirmed this on their website shortly after, stating that they had sold the 30-year-old Swiss international for 7 million euros. Xherdan Shaqiri arrived in Lyon this summer from Liverpool in exchange for six million euros. He then signed a three-year contract, until 2024.
Shaqiri took part in 16 matches in all competitions with Olympique Lyonnais and scored two goals, including one against Marseille (2-1) last week, before delivering an assist to Moussa Dembélé.
In Chicago, he will notably follow in the footsteps of Bastian Schweinsteiger, an emblematic player of German football whom he had rubbed shoulders with at Bayern Munich and who had also joined the American club between 2017 and 2019.
Xherdan Shaqiri won the Champions League with the Bavarian club in 2013, before lifting this trophy a second time in 2019 with Liverpool. He is expected to make his debut in MLS, the North American soccer league, at the end of February when the season kicks off. The attacking midfielder will have the mission of bringing the Chicago Fire back to the play-offs, after four seasons of drought.