Celtic’s reported interest in Levi Garcia looks to be ending after reports in Greece have claimed he has agreed a new contract with AEK Athens.
Celtic were first linked with the Trinidad and Tobago striker back in April of this year after reports suggested that Celtic were keeping tabs on the 28-year-old.
Athens at that time had claimed that the striker was not for sale but the speculation continued after the Greek side’s owner appeared to suggest that a decision will be made on his future after the club’s Champions League group stage qualifiers.
The situation developed further in July when AEK rejected a €22m bid from Ligue 1 side Lens as they reiterated their ‘not for sale’ pledge to the French team.
It seems now that the saga may well be over as Greek outlet Sportime claim that Garcia has agreed a new contract with AEK and it seems like they have pushed out the boat for their star striker.
The report says that Garcia is set to double his current salary to €1.2m per season which includes bonuses. His contract is set to be extended until at least 2027 and he will become one of the club’s highest earners.
Celtic’s interest in Garcia probably ended the minute AEK set an asking price of €15m (£13.15m) back in May. Sportime say that price has now doubled for the Greek side to even consider letting their star striker leave.
But now, it seems that they don’t need to worry about that anymore. Garcia is expected to sign the new deal and it will bring an end to the ongoing rumours on the future of the international striker.
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T&T’s Garcia signs new AEK Athens 5-year deal.
T&T Guardian Reports.
T&T senior men’s football team captain Levi Garcia rumoured transfer away from Greece League and Cup champions AEK Athens will not take place this summer after he put pen to paper on a new five-year deal with his club on improved terms.
This was after reports in Greece that Scottish Premiership champions Celtic’s reported interest in the 25-year-old T&T striker were dashed when he signed a contract extension with his current employers on Wednesday.
And the news was confirmed on the clubs’ social media account which said, Levi Garcia has renewed his contract with AEK Athens FC for a further five years, until the end of the 2027/28 season. Upon signing his new contract, Garcia said “Signing my new contract with AEK is something very important for me. We had amazing moments last season winning the double. We have very great matches ahead of us and we have to continue the successes and experience great moments again. Only AEK!”
Celtic was first linked with Garcia back in April of this year after reports suggested that the Scottish club was keeping tabs on the former FC Santa Rosa player.
Athens at that time had claimed that the striker was not for sale, but the speculation continued after the Greek side’s owner appeared to suggest that a decision will be made on his future after the club’s Champions League group stage qualifiers.
The situation developed further in July when AEK rejected a €22m bid from Ligue 1 side RC Lens, their second attempt at securing the player, after a bid of €18.5m was turned down, as they reiterated their ‘not for sale’ pledge to the French team.
The new deal for Garcia is rumoured to double his current salary to €1.2m per season inclusive of bonuses, making him one of the club’s highest earners.
Celtic’s interest in Garcia probably ended the minute AEK set an asking price of €15m (£13.15m) back in May.
So far this pre-season Garcia has been in fine form for the Greek outfit, scoring six goals in four matches.
Last Sunday, the T&T captain scored and also missed a penalty in a 3-1 win over Turkey’s Super League outfit Trabzonspor 3-1 at Senol Gunes Stadium, in Trabzon, Türkey for their fourth win on the trot after losing their opener against Croatia’s NK Locomotive Zagreb on July 4.
On July 13, Garcia scored a hat-trick in his team’s 5-0 trashing of Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk with Angola’s Zini scoring the two other goals in the 83rd, and 86th.
Then on July 23, AEK Athens blanked domestic rivals Volos 3-0 with Garcia netting an early brace in the 15th and 21st minutes, and Theodosis Macheras, the other on the hour mark.
AEK is set to begin defence of its Stoiximan Super League title on August 19 at home to Panetolikos.
Last season, Garcia had a good year for AEK with 18 goals scored in 37 games in all competitions, to finish second in the ‘Golden Boot’ race to Olympiacos’ Cedric Bakambu of the Democratic Republic of Congo by four goals.
He has now scored 32 in all competitions in three seasons with the Greek champions having joined the club for around £ 1.9 million from Israel’s Beitar Jerusalem in 2020.
Among the other clubs to have shown an interest in Garcia are Wolfsburg and Stuttgart, both of Germany, Spanish duo Real Sociedad, and Villarreal, Bologna of Italy, and Portuguese powerhouses SL Benfica, and Sporting Lisbon.
Last May, the T&T striker completed the domestic double in the 2022/2023 Greece Football season when they blanked PAOK FC 2-0 final of the Greece Novibet Cup final.
Levi Garcia renews contract with AEK Athens: 'He stays with us'.
By Narissa Fraser (T&T Newsday).
AFTER a successful 2022/2023 season, TT footballer Levi Garcia has renewed his contract with Greek club AEK Athens. He will remain with the club until 2028.
Garcia helped his team cop two pieces of silverware this season, winning both the Greek Super League – in which he bagged 14 goals – and the Greek Cup.
The Santa Flora-born footballer had told Newsday this season was "massive" and the best of his three years at the club.
Over the last few weeks, there have been many rumours of a top-flight French club wanting to snatch him from AEK.
However, in a Facebook post on Thursday, AEK confidently said: "Levi stays with us!
"Levi joined AEK from Beitar Jerusalem in the summer of 2020 and in the three years that followed, he played in 111 official matches and scored 32 goals. He is one of the main contributors to the great run of the 2022-23 season by winning the Double."
It quoted Garcia as saying the contract renewal is "very important" to him.
"We had amazing moments last season winning the double. We have very great matches ahead of us and we have to continue the successes and experience great moments again. Only AEK!"