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MLS Tim Warner / Getty Images When Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami, tens of millions of followers flooded the club’s social media channels. Just one Tik Tok video of Son Heung-min posted by LAFC brought 135, 000 new followers. That was to be expected. They are global superstars. No one in Chicago, though, was ready for the surge that came after the Fire announced the signing of South African center back Mbekezeli Mbokazi — the most popular player in MLS you haven’t heard of yet. Advertisement The 20-year-old is one of the brightest prospects in South African soccer, and when he moved from Orlando Pirates to Chicago, his fans followed. In the first 48 hours after the deal was announced on Dec. 2, 2025, Chicago saw an increase of 180, 000 followers across its social media accounts. In the same week the World Cup draw was held in Washington, D. C. , and Messi took on Thomas Müller in MLS Cup, it was the Fire that led the league in social media engagement. More than 572, 000 accounts from South Africa follow the Fire, representing a quarter of the team’s social media audience. “When we were evaluating the player and you hear about the player’s background, how excited people in South Africa are about him, talking about the generational talent, you start to get an understanding of it, ” Chicago Fire coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter said. “But to fully understand the impact and the popularity was difficult. To see that in just a flurry of engagement on the internet was somewhat surprising. ” Mbokazi is, of course, more than just a social media sensation. He captained Orlando Pirates, South Africa’s biggest club, and has become a key player for his national team. He started in the Fire’s season-opening game, and there is hope that he might be one of the best offseason signings. He came onto the Fire’s radar not because of his popularity, but after the success of another South African in MLS. The Fire were matched up against the Philadelphia Union in last year’s MLS playoffs. After the Union won the series with a dominant showing in Bridgeview, Ill. , Berhalter called Flemming Berg, a former scout with the Columbus Crew, where Berhalter had been coach and sporting director. Berg now works as the sporting director for Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa. “We just played against (Philadelphia center back) Olwethu Makhanya, ” Berhalter asked his colleague. “Are there other guys in South Africa that are as good as him? ” “There’s one better, ” Berg replied. Advertisement The Fire immediately started scouting Mbokazi. They were impressed by the left-footer’s passing range and how he defended in space. Despite his smaller frame — he is listed at 5-foot-10 — Mbokazi had an elite physical profile. He displayed impressive range and athleticism, running down and outjumping forwards. He was fantastic at defending in space. The Fire eventually made an offer for Mbokazi, signing him for $3 million as an under-22 initiative player. Their belief in Mbokazi was reinforced at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where Mbokazi was seen as one of the breakout performers. “We watched his games against Nigeria and you see him going into duels with these guys, and he’s handling (some of) the biggest strikers in the world easily, ” Berhalter said. “That gave us confidence. But then AFCON against (Egypt and Mohamed) Salah and some of the other teams, it was good to see a young player adapt. ” Not everyone was happy to see Mbokazi switch to MLS. South Africa coach Hugo Broos heavily criticized the move. “Don’t misunderstand me, because I don’t want to compare with Vincent Kompany, but I see the same things, ” Broos told a roundtable of reporters in December before the AFCON. “Kompany was also confident at that age, but he also needed to go to something else. His first two years, he was in Hamburg. They taught him there how to live and how his attitude should be as a professional player, and then he went to Manchester City and became a fantastic player. “This is something that can happen with (Mbokazi) also. Therefore, again, Chicago is not the right place. ” Berhalter said he understood where Broos was coming from. As a former U. S. men’s national team coach, he said he empathized with wanting your best players competing at the highest possible level. But MLS is a step up from the South African Premiership, and a place where Mbokazi can grow and develop. Berhalter said he spoke with Broos and felt that he now has a better understanding of the situation. “He knows that MLS is a higher level than the South African league, ” Berhalter said. “He knows this will be a challenge for him. And as we talked and he got familiar with our environment, he’s comfortable that we’re going to help progress him and develop him into the player that everyone believes he can be. ” Advertisement Mbokazi’s height may have played a role in a lack of European interest. But Berhalter feels his other abilities will eventually attract interest from overseas, especially as more teams play with a back-three system. Mbokazi, for his part, showed that his on-field confidence translates off the field, as well. Speaking to the press before the start of the season in his native Zulu, Mbokazi reiterated that he wanted to be in Chicago. He came across as steady, confident and unbothered by any outside noise about where he should be playing club soccer. Mbokazi said that MLS offers a chance to test himself in unfamiliar surroundings. “I want to thank the Orlando Pirates for letting me explore my talent in another country and in another environment, ” Mbokazi said, through a translator. “It was very difficult when people were talking back home, saying different things, but we persevered. I’m still very young, so age allows me to explore different things and to explore my talent at a higher level. I deserve to be here. “If I need to go to a higher league, or if I need to go somewhere else, that will happen on its own time. But I enjoy being here, and I would like to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to be here. ” The Fire have been intentional with how they see Mbokazi’s development and adaptation to MLS. That included signing a compatriot, winger Puso Dithejane, which gives Mbokazi immediate camaraderie as he adjusts to a new country. If there were any questions about Mbokazi’s social media clout and his ability on the field, he wasted little time in answering them. He went 88 minutes in the opening loss to the Houston Dynamo, and his on- and off-field influence remained clear. The defender had a goal-line clearance that was posted on Facebook and elsewhere by MLS and the Fire. MLS’s clip has more than seven million views on Facebook and another five million on Tik Tok — even though the run ahead of the clearance was deemed offside. The South African accounted for two of the top six social media posts on MLS opening weekend. (Unsurprisingly, Mbokazi’s jersey is one of the few available for purchase on the team’s website and MLS’s store. ) Advertisement The Fire, who bounced back with a clean-sheet victory over CF Montréal on Saturday with Mbokazi going the full 90, believe interest in the defender will only increase — especially with the World Cup spotlight coming next. South Africa will face Mexico in the opening game of the tournament on June 11. “Hopefully, we can use these six months to get him ready and prepared, ” Berhalter said. “But he has all the tools to make a name for himself. ” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Paul Tenorio is a senior writer for The Athletic who covers soccer. He has previously written for the Washington Post, the Orlando Sentinel, Four Four Two, ESPN and MLSsoccer. com. Follow Paul on Twitter @Paul Tenorio