Ion Nicolaescu

Zimbru Chișinău

On 20 May 2016, Nicolaescu made his professional debut for Zimbru Chișinău in the Divizia Națională against Academia Chișinău, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute. In the 2018 Moldovan National Division, he scored 5 goals in 12 appearances and reached the final of the 2017–18 Moldovan Cup.

Shakhtyor Soligorsk

Nicolaescu joined Shakhtyor Soligorsk in August 2018. However, he was used as a substitute and didn't score a single goal for the Belarusian club. Of his 15 appearances over two seasons, he started in only three. In an interview, Nicolaescu said that this was due to the general director and the coach having a falling out. He won the 2018–19 Belarusian Cup, playing in both legs of the quarter-finals.

Vitebsk

In January 2020, Nicolaescu went on loan to the Belarusian team Vitebsk. He was the team's top goal scorer in the 2020 Belarusian Premier League, scoring 9 goals in 18 matches.

DAC Dunajská Streda

Nicolaescu joined DAC Dunajská Streda of Fortuna Liga in September 2020. After mere two days with the club he contributed with two goals to a 5–3 victory over Jablonec, advancing the Slovak side to the Third Round of UEFA Europa League qualifying.

Maccabi Petah Tikva

In January 2022, Nicolaescu was loaned to Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Petah Tikva. During his loan spell, he scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists in 17 appearances. He returned to DAC in June 2022.

Beitar Jerusalem

In September…

Nicolaescu debuted for Moldova on 8 September 2018 against Luxembourg in 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute. He scored his first goal for the national team against Kosovo in 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, which was Moldova's only goal in the league phase. He was Moldova's top goal scorer in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification and 2022–23 UEFA Nations League, scoring 3 out of 5 and 4 out of 10 team's goals, respectively. Nicolaescu became Moldova's top goal scorer after scoring his 11th and 12th goals in a 3–2 win over Poland in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. With 4 goals in the competition, he became the first Moldovan to be the top goal scorer of a qualifying group.

International

As of match played 16 November 2025

Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nicolaescu goal.

Club

Zimbru Chișinău

Moldovan Cup runner-up: 2017–18 Shakhtyor Soligorsk

Belarusian Premier League runner-up: 2018 Belarusian Cup: 2018–19 DAC Dunajská Streda

Slovak First Football League runner-up: 2020–21 Beitar Jerusalem

Israel State Cup: 2022–23 Israel Super Cup runner-up: 2023 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Israel Super Cup runner-up: 2025

Individual

Moldovan Footballer of the Year: 2023, 2024, 2025