The Chicago Fire announced Tuesday they have added some offensive firepower for one last push for the postseason in the form of Florent Sinama-Pongolle, a French striker who’s played for both Liverpool and Atlético Madrid during his 13-year professional career.
Per club and MLS policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sinama-Pongolle, 29, will occupy an international roster spot and be added to the Fire roster upon receipt of his P1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate.
“Florent is a quality player with experience playing in some of the top leagues in Europe,” Fire head coach and Director of Soccer Frank Yallop said in a statement. “Since he’s been training with us for the past few weeks, we’ve been able to see first-hand the attributes he has. I’m pleased that we were able to add him to the squad as we enter the final stretch of the regular season.”
Sinama-Pongolle began his career in 2001 with Liverpool and scored four goals in 38 appearances over three seasons at Anfield while spending parts of his five-year deal with the club on loan with Blackburn Rovers and French side Le Havre.
His most productive stint came with Spanish club Recreativo Huelva, where he scored 32 goals in three seasons from 2006-08. He also spent two seasons with Atlético Madrid before additional stints with Portuguese giants Sporting, Spanish side Real Zaragoza, French club Saint-Étienne and, most recently, Russian club FC Rostov.
He was also a fixture for the French national youth teams and has one cap with the senior team.
- POWER RANKINGS: Where do the Fire stand this week?
The Fire are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, seven points out of the fifth and final postseason spot. Their 33 goals scored are third worst in the conference.
The club returns to action on Saturday at home against Toronto FC.
