James Tavernier Joins Maccabi Tel Aviv: A New Chapter

James Tavernier will board a flight to Israel today, with medical tests scheduled as his move to Maccabi Tel Aviv edges towards completion.

The deal is not yet rubber-stamped by the Israeli champions, but all signs point in one direction: after 11 years at Ibrox, the Rangers captain is about to start again in Tel Aviv.

Reports in Israel say Tavernier will earn around €1 million per season, a salary that underlines how highly Maccabi rate a 34-year-old who arrives with a bulging CV and a reputation as one of Rangers’ defining figures of the modern era.

Miller’s man

This is not a signing driven by a scouting database. It is personal.

Israeli journalist Ben Green reports that Maccabi boss Kenny Miller specifically targeted Tavernier as a cornerstone of his rebuild. The pair know each other well from their three seasons together at Rangers, and Miller has already gone on record in Israel about the possibility of reuniting.

“I know him well, he’s a very high-level player, his name came up in the last month,” the Maccabi manager said recently. It was a hint. It now looks like a statement of intent.

Maccabi are understood to be ready to tweak their tactical approach to get the most from their new arrival. A switch to a wing-back system is on the table, a shape that would push Tavernier higher up the pitch and lean into what made him such a unique weapon in Scotland: a defender who attacks like a No.10.

A rare legacy at Rangers

Tavernier’s numbers at Rangers remain staggering for a full-back.

Across 11 seasons in Glasgow, he scored 152 goals, an extraordinary haul from defence that turned him into a set-piece specialist, penalty taker and constant attacking outlet. He captained Steven Gerrard’s side to the invincible 2020/21 Scottish Premiership title, ending Celtic’s bid for 10 in a row and delivering one of the most celebrated seasons in the club’s recent history.

His medal collection at Ibrox includes that league title, a Scottish Cup, a Premier Sports Cup, a Challenge Cup and a Championship crown. He also led Rangers to the 2022 Europa League final in Seville, finishing as the competition’s top scorer with seven goals during that run.

In 2023, Rangers inducted him into their Hall of Fame. Few modern players have left such a clear imprint on the club.

New star in Israel

All of that explains the reaction in Israel. Local media have framed Tavernier’s arrival as one of the most high-profile moves in Ligat Ha'al history, a statement signing for a club intent on staying at the summit.

Maccabi are not stopping there. They are also reinforcing other areas of the squad, with Gabi Kanikovsky returning from Ferencvaros to bolster Miller’s options in midfield.

If the medical goes to plan and the final paperwork follows, Tavernier will close the book on more than a decade at Ibrox and open another in Tel Aviv. A Rangers legend swapping Glasgow for the Mediterranean heat, stepping into a new league, a new culture, and a club ready to reshape its system around him.

After everything he has already done, the question now is simple: how much more can he still change the game from right-back?