Five appearances, one start, then the end
That was Chris Mueller’s entire 2026 season. The Chicago Fire winger announced his retirement on Friday at 30.
The reason is medical. Mueller was diagnosed with pericarditis in 2025, an inflammation of the sac around the heart, and it wiped out his whole season. He came back in February, first in a preseason run-out against LA Galaxy. The comeback did not hold.
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Two caps for the USA, and a brace in one of them
Mueller’s international career amounts to two matches. The first one counted: he scored twice in a 6-0 win over El Salvador in a 2020 friendly. Nothing much followed.
Orlando City was where his football peaked. Four seasons between 2018 and 2021, 112 appearances, 21 goals, 24 assists. That is the output of a genuine starter in MLS. He took a swing at Europe afterwards, signing with Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership in 2022.
He was home again by the end of that year. Born in Illinois, Mueller joined the club he had supported as a kid. The numbers there tell a quieter story: 66 matches over five seasons, six goals, ten assists.
“I never felt alone”
“Farewells are never easy, especially when you’re saying goodbye to a game around which you have built the last 20 years of your life,” Mueller said in a statement released by Chicago Fire. “That said, this decision did not come without real difficulty, without a good deal of thought and self-examination.”
He thanked the club too. “Thank you to Chicago Fire, first for bringing me back home and letting me play for the club I grew up with. And then, above all, for their support while I was battling this diagnosis. It was incredible; I never felt alone.”
He signed off by turning to the club’s future. He will be watching from the stands now.
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