Maccabi Tel Aviv's Said Abu Farhi to Sign with Colorado Rapids After Sofia Match

Said Abu Farhi, the forward for Maccabi Tel Aviv, is set to travel to the United States this weekend to sign with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Abu Farhi will fly to Bulgaria today (Wednesday) with Maccabi Tel Aviv ahead of their third qualifying round second-leg match in the Europa League against CSKA Sofia on Thursday at 21:00. The game is expected to be his last appearance for Maccabi before completing his transfer. He will earn $400,000 per season during his first two years with Colorado. A senior Colorado official confirmed to ynet that an agreement has been reached with Maccabi Tel Aviv for a transfer fee of $6 million, excluding potential bonuses totaling $1 million.

Maccabi had hoped Abu Farhi could remain for the next European fixtures, either against OFI Crete if they advance or against Lugano in the Conference League if eliminated, but Colorado is unlikely to agree to this. Also traveling with the team today is defender Roy Revivo, who recently caused tension by refusing to play in the first leg in Batumi amid ongoing transfer talks with Elche. However, a conversation between his father, Haim Revivo, and Maccabi's sporting director, Steven Vanharan, eased the situation, allowing him to join the trip to Sofia. Elche has offered €3 million for Revivo via his agent, but Maccabi demands 15% of any future sale and that the Revivo family waive €450,000 owed under their contract. The Spanish league season starts this weekend, and the transfer window closes in about two and a half weeks, so both sides aim to reach an agreement soon.

Also traveling with Maccabi is defender Tyrese Asante, who is attracting interest from several clubs, mainly in Italy.