Brian Gutiérrez joins Chivas de Guadalajara

Brian Gutiérrez has officially left the Chicago Fire for Liga MX giants Chivas, the clubs announced this morning. It's the end of an era in Chicago, where Gutiérrez has been a staple and fan favorite for the last five years. The move is in the ballpark of $5 million.

The move comes after months of speculation that Guti's next move would be south of the border, and it's not a surprise that Chivas – the Liga MX team he grew up supporting due to familial ties in Jalisco – is the team that wins his signature. The move also follows Guti's acquisition of a Mexican passport, a necessity to sign with Chivas, who recently ended their policy of signing only Mexican internationals, but still require signings to be Mexican citizens.

While he may not have hit his ceiling in Chicago, Gutiérrez will, for now, arguably go down as the Fire's greatest and most impactful homegrown player ever. Throughout his 164 games, the Chicago native scored 21 goals and was typically a preferred starter between 2022 and 2025. Though he came up as an attacking midfielder, the now-22-year-old spent his first five pro seasons largely on the wing before transitioning to a box-to-box central midfield role under Gregg Berhalter this past year.

Though he had several important moments – including the fifth goal in the Fire's 5-3 win over Lionel Messi and Inter Miami that clinched the Fire's return to the postseason for the first time since 2017 – Gutiérrez's biggest moment with the club came a few weeks later in Bridgeview. Guti scored the first goal in a 3-1 Wild Card win over Orlando City, becoming the first Fire homegrown to ever score a playoff goal, the Fire's first playoff goalscorer since 2012, and contributing to the team's first postseason win since 2009.

At Chivas, he represents an immediate upgrade on Cade Cowell, who is set to join D.C. United by moving in the opposite direction. Chivas are looking to win their first Liga MX title since they won the Clausura in 2017.

For the Fire, this move opens a U-22 Initiative slot; the fact that the team had five U-22 players prior to Guti's sale indicates that this was the plan all along and has been expected for months. It does leave a big hole in the Fire's midfield, though, as they lose their primary midfield dynamo and an essential player for when Berhalter used a 4-3-3. The expectation now should be that the Fire will go after a DP attacking midfielder, and if not, they will be in the market for midfield reinforcements nonetheless.