Forge FC announced on Friday the return of forward Victor Klonaridis, who has signed a multi-year contract with the club.
Klonaridis, 33, re-joins Forge for a second stint after briefly featuring with the club in 2024. The Belgian-born forward brings a wealth of top-flight experience at a crucial point in the season, having played across Europe with clubs including AEK Athens, Panathinaikos, Atromitos, A.E. Kifisia and PAS Lamia in Greece, LOSC Lille and RC Lens in France, Royal Excel Mouscron in Belgium, APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus, and Ümraniyespor in Turkey.
He won a Greek Super League title in 2017-18 with AEK Athens, and has also lifted the Greek Cup twice, in 2011 with AEK and in 2014 with Panathinaikos.
Over his career, Klonaridis has featured in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, adding another layer of experience to Forge’s attack. He has played five matches in the Champions League group stage plus nine in qualifying rounds, and memorably scored a brace against Benfica in the 2018 tournament. He also scored against Celtic FC at the imposing Celtic Park in AEK's 2018 qualifying campaign.
“We are very happy to welcome Victor back to our club,” said Bobby Smyrniotis, Head Coach and Sporting Director, Forge FC. “He’s familiar with our group and what we’re building here, and with his experience we know he’ll make an impact on the pitch and be an important presence in the locker room.”
Klonaridis made three appearances with Forge last season and recorded an assist in his debut, just 11 minutes after coming into the game off the bench against York United. An injury kept him out of the lineup for the club's playoff run, but he now returns to Forge in anticipation of playing a larger role in this year's pursuit of silverware.