Chicago Fire Forward Nemanja Nikolic Wins ESPY Award for Best MLS Player

July 19, 2018 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Chicago Fire forward and reigning MLS Golden Boot winner Nemanja Nikolic won Best MLS Player at the 26th edition of the ESPY Awards on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Nikolic was nominated following his 2017 season that saw him lead the league with 24 goals. In addition to the Golden Boot, Nikolić was selected to the 2017 Best XI and the MLS All-Star Fan XI.

Nominated alongside Nikolic were the Portland Timbers' Diego Valeri and Sporting Kansas City's Ike Opara and Tim Melia.

This season, Nikolic is tied for the team lead with nine goals in MLS play and leads the team with four goals in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, including one goal in last night's 4-0 win over Louisville City FC at Toyota Park.

The ESPYS gather top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and saluting the leading performers and performances. Inspiring human stories are showcased through three pillar awards - the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, the Jimmy V Perseverance Award and the Pat Tillman Award for Service. The ESPYS support ESPN's ongoing commitment to the V Foundation for Cancer Research, launched by ESPN with the late Jim Valvano in 1993.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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