Fire Announce Roster Decisions for 2025
The Chicago Fire have announced their roster decisions for the end of the 2024 season, with Fabian Herbers and Rafa Czichos among the headline names leaving the club this offseason. Ariel Lassiter, Allan Arigoni, and Spencer Richey are also confirmed departures, while Jonathan Dean and Jeff Gal both see their options for next season picked up.
Defender Wyatt Omsberg is out of contract and midfielder Javi Casas' option was not picked up, however the club will remain in discussions with both players regarding the 2025 season. Omsberg will be eligible for MLS free agency, as will Lassiter and Richey.
Herbers' departure is particularly meaningful because he was the last remaining first team player from the Veljko Paunović era, which ended when he left the club in November of 2019. Herbers was also the only player under contract this season who wasn't initially signed by the club under outgoing sporting director Georg Heitz, who is leaving Chicago this offseason to return to his native Switzerland.
Czichos, the Fire's captain in 2022 and 2023, also leaves the club despite previously expressing interest in returning for 2025. The 34-year-old center back told MIR97 Media in August that he felt "comfortable" in Chicago and had engaged in conversations with the front office, but ultimately, given his age and current salary, a return for another season didn't materialize.
The other departures are not surprising at all; Lassiter had been a last-minute deal at the trade deadline to add wing back depth, and while he performed well in his brief stint, it always seemed like he would be leaving MLS at the end of his contract. Arigoni had an excellent start to the season, and from opening day until August, was an irreplaceable part of the starting XI, but he was dropped from the team for the 4-1 loss to Inter Miami on August 31st and never made another start.
This year's roster decisions come exactly one month earlier than they did last season, though given the expected makeover the first team will receive under new director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter, that is not surprising. Further players under contract for next season could also be sold this winter, including Gastón Giménez, Carlos Terán, and Arnaud Souquet, though those moves would all be highly dependent on how the transfer window shakes out in the coming months.
The club also maintains options for 2025 on multiple on-loan USL players, namely Victor Bezerra and Laurence Wootton. With the USL season not yet concluded, those decisions have not yet been officially made.
