Lior Refaelov will be a free agent this summer as his time at Anderlecht is set to come to an end. The former Club Brugge and Antwerp attacking midfielder will not have his contract renewed by the Mauves and can now start looking for a new club. The 37-year-old former Israeli international joined the club for free in the summer of 2021 after Antwerp also decided against renewing his contract. This season he has scored four league goals and provided five assists in 29 appearances. He also scored once in the Europa Conference League. In his two years at Anderlecht he played 91 games, scoring 25 goals and providing 13 assists.
Given his success in the Pro League, should the player opt against retiring he will certainly have offers from other Belgian clubs. These will likely be those outside of the top four however. Another option is to return to Israel, where he began his career and won a number of league titles with Maccabi Haifa before joining Club Brugge in 2011.
As recently as 2020 he was named Belgian footballer of the year. This goes along with his two titles won at Club Brugge in 2015/2016 and 2017/2018, where he also won two super cups. He has also won the domestic cup twice, once in 2015 with Club Brugge and the other time in 2020 with Antwerp.
Should Refaelov leave the Pro League, he will go down as one of its best ever players. He played 273 regular season games, scoring 74 goals and providing 60 assists. In the play-offs, he made 62 appearances, with 13 goals and seven assists.
Refaelov is the first to be leaving Anderlecht this summer, but will certainly not be the last. Sporting Director Jesper Fredberg has recently stated that there will be a number of outgoings as he looks to reshape the squad ahead of the 2023/2024 season.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
