Aris has signed Juraj Bandeli, strengthening its defense with a player who has significant experience in the Romanian league and European competitions. The 22-year-old Croatian center back arrives in Cyprus from the league champions, Universitatea Craiova, where he has played a key role in recent years.
He has made a total of 75 appearances and celebrated a treble last season. In fact, he has already played this season, both in the league and in the Champions League qualifiers, and has also made two appearances for the Croatian U-21 national team.
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Bandeli signed a five-year contract, running through the summer of 2031.
Details: “Aris Limassol announces the signing of central defender Juraj Bandeli.
The 22-year-old Croatian defender (born August 24, 2003), standing 1.90m tall, was acquired from Romanian league champions Universitatea Craiova and has signed a five-year contract that will keep him with our team until the summer of 2031.
Bandel played for the Romanian club since January 2023. During his three-and-a-half-year tenure, he won all domestic titles in the 2025–26 season, as Craiova celebrated winning the league title, the Cup, and the Romanian Super Cup. Last season, he made a total of 26 appearances across all competitions, while his total appearances with the Romanian club stood at 75, scoring one goal and providing one assist.
In the 2026–27 season, which has already begun in Romania, Bandeli has made one league appearance and one in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
He began his soccer career in the youth academy of Hrvatski Dragovoljac in Zagreb, where he played from 2017 to 2022, before transferring to NK Rudeš. He remained with the Croatian club for five months before moving to Romania.
At the international level, Bandeli has made two appearances for the Croatian U-21 national team in the European U-21 Championship qualifiers.
“We welcome Juraj Bandeli to the Aris family and wish him every success in our team’s jersey.”
