Avi Rikan signed a new two-year-deal which will keep him at Maccabi Tel Aviv FC until the end of the 2019/20 season with the club having an option to extend by a further season.

The 29-year-old midfielder who joined Maccabi in the summer of 2015 from FC Zurich and scored 12 goals in 107 appearances in all competitions, 7 of which have been this season, told the club’s official website: “I am delighted with the contract extension and would like to thank everyone for the expression of faith in me.  At this stage of my career and together with the experience I gained, I feel a lot more mature yet my hunger to succeed  and improve at Maccabi Tel Aviv keep growing every day. I am delighted to stay on with my friends who turned into a family and the fans who keep supporting us everywhere and all the time”. 

Maccabi’s CEO Ben Mansford said: “We are really pleased to have secured Avi for two more seasons after this one and potentially with an option of a third. This year Avi is fine goal-scoring form, and for me since I have been over here in the past 6-7 months now, he has been an integral part of the dressing room. You can clearly see the influence that he has and how he gets everyone together. I am really pleased for Avi that he is going to spend the foreseeable future with Maccabi while winning trophies”.

Maccabi’s coach Jordi Cruyff, added: “I am happy that both Avi and the club reached an agreement to extend his contract and keep him at Maccabi. Avi is a player one can always count on, as he can play in various positions and is ready to help when necessary. Players like Rikan with such attributes like professionalism and positive approach are important to have at any club”.