Gabriel Pawel "Gaga" Slonina (born May 15, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire, on loan from Premier League club Chelsea.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gabriel Pawel Slonina | ||
| Date of birth | (2004-05-15) May 15, 2004 (age 18) | ||
| Place of birth | Addison, Illinois, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team |
Chicago Fire (on loan from Chelsea) | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2020 | Chicago Fire | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021–2022 | Chicago Fire | 34 | (0) |
| 2022– | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
| 2022– | → Chicago Fire (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2019 | United States U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | United States U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | United States U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021– | United States U20 | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 17, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of May 17, 2022 | |||
Born in Addison, Illinois, Slonina joined the youth academy of Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire in 2013.[2] On March 8, 2019, Slonina signed a professional homegrown player contract with the club. At the age of 14, Slonina became the second youngest signing in Major League Soccer history and the youngest signing ever for the Chicago Fire.[2]
On August 4, 2021, Slonina made his professional debut for the Chicago Fire against New York City FC, becoming the youngest starting goalkeeper in league history at 17 years, 81 days.[3] Slonina made four saves for the Fire as the match ended in a 0–0 draw which made him the youngest goalkeeper to record a shutout (clean sheet) in Major League Soccer history.[4][5]
On August 2, 2022, Slonina signed for Premier League club Chelsea for a transfer fee of $10 million, potentially rising to $15 million with add-ons.[6]
Slonina will remain with the Chicago Fire on loan to complete the remainder of the MLS season, before joining Chelsea on January 1, 2023.[6][7]
Slonina has represented the United States at the under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-20 levels.[8][9] Slonina was called into camp for the United States senior team in December 2021 but did not feature in a match.[10] On January 21, 2022, Slonina was called into a World Cup Qualifying camp with the United States senior team but again did not feature in a match.[11] On May 17, he was called up to the Polish senior team by coach Czesław Michniewicz for their upcoming Nations League fixtures against Wales, Belgium and the Netherlands.[12] Three days later, Slonina rejected the call-up and declared his wish to represent United States on international level.[13]
Born in the United States, he is of Polish descent and is eligible to represent the United States or Poland internationally.[14][15][16]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2021 | Major League Soccer | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | Major League Soccer | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 34 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||||||
| Chelsea | 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chicago Fire (loan) | 2022 | Major League Soccer | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
Chicago Fire FC – current squad | |
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