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The Chicago Fire acquired Brazilian forward Gilberto off waivers from Toronto FC, the MLS club announced on Monday. Gilberto scored seven goals in 28 league games last season but he became surplus to requirements before the current campaign after TFC signed U.S. international striker Jozy Altidore. That signing gave Toronto one more than the maximum three designated players, so TFC opted to loan Gilberto to Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. With Gilberto now returning, Toronto was forced to waive the player since he is still a DP, and the Fire, who are currently in last place in the league-wide table, were first in the waiver draft order. In the same announcement, the Fire announced that they had officially signed former Chelsea striker, but then traded him to the Montreal Impact "in exchange for general and targeted allocation money." A source told ESPN FC that the money was at least double the $125,000 that New York City FC paid the LA Galaxy for the rights to acquire Frank Lampard. Chicago initially obtained Drogba's rights by filing a discovery claim on the player and pursued him for over a month. The Fire thought their offer would be enough to entice the former Chelsea forward to head to the Windy City, but Montreal soon entered the fray, and the prospect of playing in the French-speaking city proved more attractive to the former Ivory Coast captain. Drogba's decision marks the second time in two seasons that Chicago has missed out on a high-profile designated player. In 2014, the club went through a protracted attempt to sign U.S. international midfielder Jermaine Jones that ended with the Fire getting nothing and the player ending up with the New England Revolution via a league-mandated blind draw. Gilberto's nine goals in 13 matches led Vasco to the Rio de Janeiro state championship (also known as Carioca 1), including the game-winner in the final against Botafogo. In this year's Serie A, however, Gilberto failed to find the net in 12 appearances.
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