Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay joins Olympiakos on loan for the season

Ibrahim Afellay

Dutch winger Ibrahim Afellay has completed his move to Olympiakos on a season long loan deal from Barcelona, the Spanish club announced.

Afellay is in his last year of his contract with Barcelona and will be a free agent at the end of the season. It’s most likely that he will head for pastures new upon completion of his contract at Nou Camp.

The 28-year old joined the Catalans in 2010 from PSV Eindhoven as one of the most highly rated prospects across Europe, but he never quite made the ranks at Barcelona.

In a career littered with injury problems, Afellay has been able to play for the Blaugranes only 35 times since joining the club.

Afellay spent the 2012/13 season on loan to German Bundesliga side Schalke, but even there, two different muscle injuries restricted him to only a handful of appearances at the Gelsenkirchen.

The Dutchman appeared in only two competitive games for Barcelona last season, against Malaga in La Liga and Levante in the Copa del Rey.

Olympiakos meanwhile will look at this as a low risk high return investment on their part as they look to retain the upcoming Superleague Greece.

On Afellay’s part, this gives him another last opportunity to showcase his talents at the European stage with Olympiakos involved in the Champions League.

If the Dutchman can give them a full season of football, this can be termed as one of the coups of the season.