Fire land Brazilian forward Gilberto from Toronto FC

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The Fire have acquired Brazilian forward Gilberto off waivers from Toronto FC, the club announced Monday afternoon.

The news comes hours after the Montreal Impact procured Didier Drogba's MLS discovery rights from the Fire in exchange for a "substantial amount of targeted and regular allocation money" Sunday afternoon.

Those reports were verified, as the Men in Red acquired general and targeted allocation money in exchange for the Ivorian via a sign-and-trade deal with the Impact. Gilberto will occupy the Fire's third designated player spot, as the club opted to buy down Kennedy Igboananike's salary. 

[RELATED - Report: Impact obtain Drogba's MLS discovery rights from Fire]

"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," head 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. 

"With regards to the trade, we felt this move was in the best interest of our club. 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."

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After signing on with Toronto as a Designated Player on Dec. 13, 2013, Gilberto tallied seven goals and five assists in his rookie MLS season, starting 21 and appearing in 28 regular season matches overall in 2014.

The 26-year-old was then sent on loan to Brazilian Série A side CR Vasco de Gama on Feb. 20, where he failed to score in 890 minutes across 12 games. In 13 appearances during the team's run to the 2015 Rio de Janeiro state championship -- the Campeonato Carioca -- his nine goals spearheaded Vasco to glory in May.    

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