Late Thursday afternoon, it was revealed that the Chicago Fire's own Nemanja Nikolic was named Hungary's best footballer of 2017 at the 2018 M4 Sport Gala.
Nikolic was nominated alongside RB Leipzig goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi and Budapest Honvéd striker Davide Lanzafame for the award, which was decided via a vote among the Hungarian Association of Sports Journalists.
The recognition should come as little surprise after an explosive club campaign saw the 30-year-old lead MLS with a single-season Fire record 24 goals scored, and earn the league's Golden Boot Award in the process. Nikolic was also chosen by fans to participate in the 2017 MLS All-Star Game against Real Madrid, and was a finalist for the league's Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player Award following his remarkable debut season in the Windy City.
On the national team side, Nikolic returned to the Hungary squad after a year-long absence for a pair of November friendlies against Luxembourg and Costa Rica. He went on to score in both matches.
Nikolic took the opportunity to share the news of his honor with his followers on Twitter:
With a memorable year behind him, Nikolic will begin his run at 2018 when the Fire kickoff their preseason on Jan. 23.
