Former Chicago Fire striker Nemanja Nikolic announced his retirement from professional soccer.
“It is time to say goodbye to professional football,” Nikolic wrote in a Twitter post. “I enjoyed every minute of this journey, it was a pleasure to play this beautiful game.”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Nikolic played three seasons with the Fire, signing as a Designated Player from Polish side Legia Warsaw back on Dec. 20, 2016.
His best season with the Fire was his debut season in 2017 where he won the MLS Golden Boot with 24 goals and set a club record for most goals scored in a season.
His successful debut season led the Fire to a third place finish in the Eastern Conference, helping the team qualify for the MLS playoffs, which was also the last time the team made the postseason.
While his sophomore season wasn’t as good as his first, he still led the team in goals with 15.
He left the Fire at the end of the 2019 season as his contract expired and joined Fehérvár in Hungary.
Despite his relatively short tenure with the club, Nikolic ranks second in most goals scored with 51, only behind Ante Razov. His 51 goals in 96 games also put him at the top of the club’s record books in goals scored per 90 minutes (0.53).