Chicago Fire general manager John Guppy has admitted they attempted to lure Zinedine Zidane out of retirement.
But the ex-Real Madrid and France star, who quit the game after last year's World Cup final, has no intention of joining David Beckham in the US.
Guppy told the Chicago Tribune: "We reached out to Zidane, but so has every other MLS club. The feedback we've all gotten is that he's retired."
The Fire said they also failed in a bid to bring Swede Henrik Larsson to MLS.
Larsson is on loan at Manchester United from his hometown club Helsingborg.
"He said he would love to play in Chicago but needed to consider his options"
And Guppy added: "We were very interested in signing him. But he made it clear that he wanted to return to his hometown.
"It wasn't about us not offering the right deal. It was a personal decision.
"When Manchester United came around, it was something he couldn't turn down. His representative told us when his loan with Manchester United is over, he's going back to Helsingborg."
A more realistic target appears to be Fulham's American striker Brian McBride, with Guppy revealing: "We offered Brian a contract.
"He said he would love to play in Chicago but needed to consider his options."
Zidane brought the curtain down on a glittering career that saw him lift all of the major honours in the game when he was sent-off in the World Cup final defeat to Italy for headbutting defender Marco Materazzi.
And it would seem the midfielder, who starred for Juventus before a world record £46.5m move to Real, and has no intention of changing his mind and following former Madrid team-mate Beckham, who has agreed a five-year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy.