July 27--The Chicago Fire has acquired former Toronto FC forward Gilberto after claiming him on waivers.
"Gilberto is in the prime of his career and can immediately help our club push toward the MLS Cup Playoffs this year and for years to come," Fire coach Frank Yallop said in a press release. "We've been tracking Gilberto for some time now and knew he could become available due to Toronto FC's Designated Player situation. He's shown he can score goals in this league and we look forward to him joining our club here in Chicago.
Meanwhile, as reported earlier, the Montreal Impact acquired the MLS rights to Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba from the Fire. In return the Fire reportedly got a "substantial amount of targeted and regular allocation money" in excess of $100,000.
"With regards to the trade, we felt this move was in the best interest of our club," Yallop said. "We received a significant amount of allocation money from Montreal, giving us the spending flexibility to find another player in this window or down the line.
"We respect Mr. Drogba's professionalism throughout this process and wish him luck, but we are excited to welcome Gilberto to the club and move forward toward the MLS Cup Playoffs and the U.S. Open Cup Semifinals."
Gilberto, 26, scored nine goals during his loan with Vasco da Gama, after arriving in February of 2015. Seven of those goals came during his club's run through the Guanabara Cup.
The Brazilian forward initially joined MLS prior to the 2014 season after signing as a Designated Player for Toronto FC on Dec. 13, 2013. He was one of Toronto FC's top attacking players that season, notching seven goals and five assists in 28 games. He scored in four-consecutive games at one point during the season.
