Olympiakos wanted to announce that captain Kostas Fortounis would stay until 2026 after extending the contract of striker Giorgos Masouras, but he opted for a move to Saudi Arabia. Piraeus are also worried about goalscorer and conference success guarantor Ayoub El Kaabi, who can transfer for a small fee until the end of the month
The Europa Conference League winners and their captain are likely to part ways after ten years. Kostas Fortounis has played for Piraeus since 2014. In his younger years, he was under contract for three seasons (2011-2014) at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, for whom he started 28 times in the Bundesliga (five assists) and 42 times in the 2nd Bundesliga (two goals, five assists).
In the last ten years, Fortounis has won the league title six times and the cup twice with Olympiakos. During this time, the 31-year-old has played 369 times for Olympiakos, scoring 95 goals and recording 108 assists. But the biggest performance for the port city side was this year’s Europa Conference League victory over Fiorentina (1:0 n.V.), when the captain held the trophy in his hands at the end.
It seems that the midfielder has at least chosen a good time to move to Saudi Arabia. Al-Khaleej FC offered the Greek a three-year contract worth over three million euros a year. A few days ago, Georgios Donis, a fellow countryman of Fortounis, took over as coach at the Saudi club. Olympiakos also do not want to wait any longer for an answer from their long-serving captain
El Kaabi in high demand
With the loss of Fortounis looming, Olympiakos are hoping to keep goalscorer Ayoub El Kaabi. Olympiakos have an option for the 31-year-old striker for the 2024/25 season, but the Moroccan can top it for just over half a million euros by the end of July and switch clubs. Piraeus have offered their goalscorer a two-year contract on improved terms.
Thanks to his 33 goals (three assists) in 50 competitive matches in the 2023/24 season, the left-footer is not only highly sought-after in the Arab world. Italian and Turkish clubs as well as Aston Villa have also enquired about El Kaabi. The English in particular had to acknowledge the class of the Moroccan goalscorer in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League (five goals in both games). El Kaabi, who will be competing with the Moroccan Olympic team in Paris, wants to make a decision soon. El Kaabi is currently at the Olympiakos training camp in the Netherlands
