- February 4, 2026
- 2:06 pm
- Israel
Defender of Donetsk Shakhtar and the national team of Bolivia Diego Arroyo in January 2026 was on the verge of an unexpected move to Israeli football. It was about a short-term loan for four months to Hapoel Petah Tikva, but the deal fell apart literally at the final stage.
The details were shared by the player’s agent Rafi Epstein in the podcast “Kick Talk”. According to him, the initiative came not only from the Israeli side — the position of Shakhtar’s management played a key role.
“I was supposed to bring a truly strong central defender to Petah Tikva, a player who, in my opinion, is above the league level. This is a footballer whom I sold to Shakhtar for serious money. The plan was simple: four months of playing practice so he wouldn’t be idle,” the agent noted.
What the transfer scheme looked like
Negotiations were conducted in a working mode and without financial adventures. According to Epstein, Shakhtar’s sporting director Darijo Srna gave the green light to the deal.
The Ukrainian club was ready to pay half of the player’s salary, the other half was to be covered by the Israeli side. Arroyo’s total salary is about 30 thousand euros per month. For a loan of this level, it was considered a rare opportunity for a club from the lower part of the table.
In this context, it’s important to understand: NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency have repeatedly noted that such targeted deals are not about big names, but about addressing specific tactical tasks here and now.
Why Israel at all
A question that naturally arose among fans: why would a defender of Shakhtar’s level and the Bolivian national team go to Ligat ha’Al. The answer turned out to be pragmatic.
Arroyo had recently received almost no playing time. The competition in the Donetsk club is extreme: there are several central defenders in the squad, including players from the Ukrainian national team. The situation is similar to cases of other young footballers who get stuck in the rotation of major clubs.
The loan in Israel was considered a way not to lose form and return to action.
What went wrong
The decisive factor was an injury. Arroyo was diagnosed with a hamstring strain. He recently played in a match against the Panama national team, but medical doubts remained.
“We are still checking the condition, but it was precisely because of this injury that everything stalled,” explained Epstein. In the conditions of a short loan and a tight schedule, the club decided not to take risks.
As a result, Hapoel Petah Tikva quickly filled the position with another option — defender Alex Musonda, a 25-year-old player from Aris Limassol, who was loaned until the end of the season.
The story with Arroyo remained an unfulfilled transfer — without scandals, but with a telling detail: even when clubs, money, and interest align, football is often decided not by negotiations, but by the medical office.
