Shpungin, 31, leaves Maccabi after four seasons in which he won 1 League title, a State Cup and 2 Toto Cups, and a total of 246 appearances in 10 seasons.

Shpungin, a product of Maccabi’s youth department who scored two goals in 246 appearances for Maccabi in 10 seasons, told the club’s official website:“To summarise a period at Maccabi Tel Aviv is emotional by all means especially as this is the club I grew up at and was my home since the age of 7. Despite the fact I played for the senior side for 10 seasons with a four-year-break in the middle, the last four years were packed with quite a few powerful and emotional experiences. I would like to thank everyone I played alongside, trained under or worked with and especially the fans who supported me all along the way. I always wore the yellow shirt with pride and Maccabi will forever have more than a warm spot in my heart”.

Maccabi’s CEO Ben Mansford added: “Yuval is a true professional who has contributed greatly to Maccabi over the seasons. At the end of the season, every club is faced with these difficult decisions and this was a truly difficult one. Everyone at Maccabi wishes Yuval all the very best with his career and for his next chapter. Yuval will always be welcome at Maccabi.”

The 31-year-old full-back, who left Maccabi in 2010 and had spells with Omonia Nicosia and Belgian outfit Mons, retuned to Maccabi four years later for a second stint at the club. Shpungin, played a role in Maccabi’s treble winning side of 2014/5, helped the team qualify to the Champions League group stage the following year, as well as two successful campaigns in the Europa League group stage before winning the Toto Cup of 2017/18.