The Chicago Fire have announced that they and forward Gilberto have mutually agreed to terminate his contract. The story was first broken by the Daily Herald’s Orrin Schwarz.
“Despite his best efforts, Gilberto was not able to reach his top form in Major League Soccer,” said Fire general manager Nelson Rodríguez in the club’s press release. “He is a good person, with a big heart and a passion for the game, and we hope he finds success at his next stop.”
The former Toronto FC and Vasco da Gama player scored five goals in 10 matched towards the end of last season, but this season saw him score zero goals in nine matches. According to Schwarz’s sources, Gilberto walked out on the team at the end of May after an emotional outburst and the club then put him on “personal leave”, setting up a personal training schedule. He was the highest paid player on the club at $1.145 million this season and only the second player since Cuauhtemoc Blanco to be paid north of one million.
He is expected to go back to Brazil to play his club soccer there. The report from Schwarz says a representative from Brazilian side Santa Cruz met with Gilberto last weekend.
His departure means that he forfeits his salary with the club and it opens both a Designated Player spot and an international player spot on the roster. Rodriguez previously stated that the club would not be active in the league’s Summer Transfer Window which starts on Monday, but it is unknown at this point if that will change.
THOUGHTS: Gilberto joins the long line of designated players who have disappointed for the Chicago Fire since Blanco left the club after the 2009 season. They are too numerous to mention at this point. Thankfully, both the Fire’s current DP’s, David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike, are proving to be exceptions to this so far with their play (when healthy).
Nelson Rodriguez has maintained that the DP is the “last piece” to his puzzle. We’ll see if the club will now search for that piece starting on Monday.
Chicago Fire
MLS
