After leaving Maccabi Haifa: Matías Nahuel has found a new team

Five days after officially terminating his contract with Maccabi Haifa, Matías Nahuel signed this morning (Saturday) with his new team — Johor, the champion of Malaysia.

Nahuel was purchased by the Greens in September 2024 for 1.9 million euros, a sum that could have reached 2.5 million euros with bonuses. The club was convinced he would contribute significantly, but in practice, he became one of the most prominent failures of recent years regarding foreign acquisitions. Last January, he was loaned to the Polish Jagiellonia Białystok, and upon his return in the summer, Maccabi Haifa hoped to sell him or send him on another loan, but in the end, it was decided to release him from the contract that was for two more years. As a free agent, the path to a transfer was easier, and he is moving to play in Asian football.

"We have snapped up free agent Matías Nahuel! Now let's enjoy football once again."

In an extensive interview with the Spanish "AS", Nahuel claimed that he went through a difficult period in Israel:

"It was a complete ordeal, mainly mentally. I couldn't free myself from this cycle of living in a country that deals with a conflict every day, where unpleasant things happen that I do not support. I do not support any political ideology. I don't like wars, I don't like bloodshed, and I don't like seeing people die. I kept asking myself why all this is happening, because the world could be much better if there were more compassion in it. Why is there so much death? Why are there so many bombs? Why?"

"My head couldn't focus on football. There were other things I saw from the outside, and that's why the injury happened. That is also the reason I looked for a way to leave Haifa in the winter transfer window and move to another team. When things like this occupy you, it means that you are not happy in the country and that all these problems affect what happens in the player's head."