The Colorado Rapids have acquired Israeli international striker Sayed Abu Farkhi, the club announced Tuesday.
“Sayed is a player we are incredibly excited to bring into our current group,” team president Pádraig Smith said in a release. “He’s an exceptional player with a winning mentality. His goal-scoring prowess paired with his outstanding work rate against the ball is something that instantly drew us in. Sayed was a player in high demand across a number of clubs, so we’re delighted he has chosen the Rapids.”
Farkhi, 20, arriving from Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Tel Aviv, will be under contract through the 2029-30 MLS season with an option for 2030-31. He will take up an international roster slot and will join Colorado’s MLS franchise pending the receipt of his P-1 Visa. The .
Farkhi arrives on a U-22 initiative, which indicates he should be coming to Colorado with a starting spot locked down. He will most likely be the replacement for Rafael Navarro, who is reportedly headed to St. Louis for around $12 million.
“We are delighted to bring Sayed to the club,” Rapids coach Matt Wells said in a team release. “At a young age, he has already competed at a very high level and has experience of playing in big environments. His player profile is exactly what we look for within our attackers; he is constantly pressing the opponent, can link the play technically and attacks the box with aggression. He fits the model of the type of players we want to sign — young and hungry to achieve big things in the game. He is a player who has high ambitions and is on the way up in his career.”
Farhki began playing professionally in 2023 with Maccabi Tel Aviv, but made only 17 appearances that year. He became a regular starter when he went on loan to Maccabi Bnei Raina in Israel in 2025. He returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2025 and has since become a staple in the club’s offense. He scored 16 goals and assisted three in 50 appearances since 2025.
He has hardly made a name for himself outside Israel, despite having made one appearance for the Israeli national team. Colorado is banking on Farhki developing in Wells’ system. Farhki will certainly have big boots to fill replacing Navarro, who is a proven MLS goal scorer.
The Rapids have been looking to revamp their offense, which has been dormant over the past few months. The team that scored six against Houston earlier in the season has scored more than two goals in a game only twice since May 18, when Lionel Messi came to town. As valuable as Navarro was to the Rapids, he has only scored once from open play in the last 12 games.
The transfer fee is around half of what the Rapids brought home in cash from the Lucas Herrington transfer earlier this summer.
