The 32-year-old, also known as Nikos Karelis, is set for his maiden stint in India. He began his youth career with Ergotelis and made his senior professional debut with them in 2007.

Karelis has played for seven more clubs including stints in Russia (Amkar Perm), Belgium (Genk), England (Brentford) and the Netherlands (ADO Den Haag). Mumbai City FC will be his eighth club.

Karelis has netted 103 goals in 361 professional matches along with 29 assists, while his best performance at a club came for Panathinaikos, for whom he scored 36 goals in 114 competitive games.

The 2014-15 season was his standout when Karelis scored 19 goals in 50 contests.

He won the Greek Cup with Panathinaikos in 2013-14. Later, he also won two titles with the Greek club PAOK in 2018-19 (Super League Greece and Greek Cup).

Karelis was last associated with another Greek club Panetolikos, where he was adjudged its player of the season in 2022-23.

"The team has achieved significant success over the past few years, and I am eager to contribute to its continued success in the upcoming season," Karelis said in a release.

MCFC head coach Petr Kratky said, "Nikos is a highly talented player who perfectly matches the requirements we expect from our forwards. He has experience playing in various European countries and has consistently proven his calibre in different leagues."