Tornike Morchiladze is the new HNK Rijeka player: contract until summer 2028 and the first Georgian in the club’s history
RIJEKA, 8 January 2026. HNK Rijeka has officially confirmed the arrival of Tornike Morchiladze, a 23-year-old Georgian attacker who can play on both wing positions. According to the club’s announcement, Morchiladze signed a contract until the summer of 2028, with an option to extend for one more season. He arrives at Rujevica as the first reinforcement of 2026, at the moment the winter preparations begin and the squad is being assembled for the second part of the season. The club also emphasizes the historic dimension of the deal: Morchiladze is the first footballer from Georgia to wear the Rijeka shirt. The signature thus fits into the broader story of opening the Croatian market to new football environments, but also into clear sporting logic – bringing in a player who already has senior output and an international-team framework, while at the same time still entering a period in which a career can accelerate strongly.
A multi-season contract and a clear message: Rijeka are signing a player for “now”, but also for development
The fact that a contract until 2028 has been signed, with an additional option, is an important message both to the dressing room and to the fans. Such contracts usually mean the club is not counting only on short-term squad filling, but on the player being part of the team’s backbone over multiple seasons. At the same time, the length of the contract increases the footballer’s responsibility: joining the reigning champion carries the expectation of quick integration, but also continuity of form. Rijeka also stresses that they are getting an attacker who can play on both wing positions, which in practice often means the possibility of rotation without losing structure and without major cuts in the playing system. In this context, every new signature also becomes a competitive signal to the existing squad: minutes are earned, not assumed.
Who is Tornike Morchiladze: Dinamo Tbilisi, a loan to Telavi and output in the last season
In the official announcement, Rijeka states that Morchiladze developed in Dinamo Tbilisi’s youth academy, where he gradually earned a place in the first team and gained the status of a regular starter. Additional senior experience was gathered through two seasons on loan at FC Telavi, which is often an important step for players moving from a big club into an environment where more minutes and greater responsibility in matches are required. According to the club’s data, in the past season Morchiladze recorded 30 official appearances for Dinamo Tbilisi and scored 12 goals, which for a winger profile suggests a tangible presence in the final third, not just in building attacks. Rijeka also notes in the presentation that he was a member of the Georgian national team at the European Championship for under-21 players, confirming that he has already gone through the competitive demands of international football. Combined with his age, that profile fits the club’s idea of bringing into the squad players with clear potential, but also with enough experience to immediately enter a competitive rhythm.
Key transfer information
- Player: Tornike Morchiladze (23), Georgian attacker
- Position: can play on the right and left wing
- Contract: until summer 2028, with an option to extend for one more season
- Previous path: Dinamo Tbilisi (youth academy and first team), loan at FC Telavi
- Output according to the club: 30 official appearances and 12 goals in the past season
After the official announcement, the focus quickly shifts from paper to the pitch: the club and fans expect the new winger to fit into the rhythm and confirm the numbers from the previous season in an environment where every move is measured by the result.
First messages from Rujevica: ambition, respect for the club and focus on the pitch
In a statement published on the club’s channels, Morchiladze emphasized that, historically, he sees Rijeka as one of the best clubs in Croatia. He pointed out that he can’t wait to step onto the pitch and give his maximum, and he explained the move with ambition and sporting goals. He especially stressed Rijeka’s status as the reigning champion, with the message that his ambitions aligned with the club’s ambitions. The tone of his first words was measured, without big announcements, with a clear emphasis on work and proving himself. In the part about his own qualities, he avoided self-assessments, saying everything must be seen in matches, which is typical of players who consciously try to avoid “marketing” before they make their first appearances.
“I know that Rijeka, historically speaking, is one of the best clubs in Croatia and I can’t wait to step onto the pitch and give my maximum for this club. Why Rijeka? Rijeka are the reigning champions, and my ambitions have aligned with the club’s ambitions.”Morchiladze also looked back on expectations in the Rijeka shirt and on the city’s emotional relationship with the club. He spoke about how much the fans love Rijeka and how the city lives for the club, which is a theme that constantly returns in Rijeka’s sporting environment, especially after major successes. There is also a practical dimension in that sentence: the player shows he understands an environment where support is strong, but expectations are also high. When it comes to the Croatian league, he said he knows something about the clubs and the competition and that he is aware that three or four clubs stand out, which is why he can’t wait to play against them. In that announcement there is also an important message for the coaching staff: the player sees himself as someone who wants to play “big” matches and seek a challenge, not just enter through the side door.
“I don’t like talking about myself; everything will be seen on the pitch.”Such an attitude, without excessive announcements, fits well with the Rijeka mentality in which fans value work, energy and a concrete reaction in the match most.
Rujevica is not unfamiliar to him: an away visit with Georgia’s U-21 national team in November 2024
One detail is especially interesting to fans: Morchiladze is not at HNK Rijeka’s stadium for the first time. The club recalled that he visited Rujevica in November 2024 with his country’s U-21 national team, in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier. According to UEFA data, it was the Croatia U-21 – Georgia U-21 match played on 19 November 2024 in Rijeka, which ended 3:2 for Croatia. But the two-legged tie went to a penalty shootout, and UEFA states that Georgia ultimately secured qualification for the final tournament after penalties. Such a match, with high stakes and strong emotional charge, often remains in the memory of both players and the public. For Morchiladze, that means he arrives in Rijeka with experience of the atmosphere at Rujevica, even if in an international context, and with a clear picture of how quickly the rhythm of a match can change when big objectives are on the line.
Joining a club with a raised “bar”: Rijeka are champions and double-crown winners
Morchiladze arrives at Rujevica at a time when the success criterion is set high. In its official announcement, Rijeka stated that they are Croatian champions for the 2024/2025 season, the second time in the club’s history, after a win over Slaven Belupo in the final round and finishing the championship with 65 points, with the title secured via a better head-to-head record. In the club’s 2025 retrospective it is additionally emphasized that, alongside the league, the Croatian Cup was also won, giving the club a double crown and once again placing it among seasons remembered for decades. Such status automatically changes the perspective: every new player arrives in a team that is no longer satisfied only with good periods, but must maintain the standard even when form is not ideal. In that sense, signing a winger attacker on a multi-season deal can also be read as an attempt to keep squad depth in positions that are often decisive in matches against deep defenses.
In the same retrospective, the club also states that 2025 was a year in which sporting, financial and marketing goals were achieved, with emphasis on the European campaign and membership growth. It is also mentioned that Rijeka secured a place in the UEFA Conference League group and ensured “overwintering” in Europe, which further increased the number of matches and demands on the squad. The club also cites concrete indicators of fan interest: 17,118 members at the end of 2025, 5,412 season-ticket holders, and a total of 156,604 spectators at 27 home matches, i.e., an average of about 5,800 per match. Such numbers create additional pressure, but also additional energy, because the new player enters a club that at that moment is in strong momentum both sporting and organizationally. Morchiladze himself emphasized in his statements the importance of fans and the city, and now he will have to confirm that in matches in which the team is expected, despite changes, to maintain a winning mentality.
The wider transfer-window picture: wing flexibility as an important part of the squad puzzle
When a club enters the second part of the season with trophy status and big ambitions, the transfer window becomes a period in which precision is sought, not quantity. Wing positions in that sense are often among the most sensitive, because they are places where the most energy is spent, but also where a decisive final-third action is most demanded. Rijeka presented Morchiladze as a player who can cover both sides, which in practice means that through one acquisition more solutions are gained: from in-game substitution to the possibility that different roles are distributed without losing width. In the Croatian championship, where teams often play against organized defenses, wingers frequently decide matches with a dribble, a run, or a shot from the second line, but they equally have to do the defensive part of the job. Morchiladze avoided talking about personal qualities in his first words, but it is precisely through that everyday two-way wing role that he will most quickly show how much he can bring to Rijeka.
What’s next: adaptation, competition and first appearances in front of the Rijeka crowd
The nearest challenges for the new winger will be simple to describe, but hard to carry out: adapting to training demands, fitting into team automatisms and earning a role in competition. In a club defending the champion’s title, minutes are generally earned in every training session, but confirmed in matches where decision-making, courage and discipline are required. In his first words, Morchiladze set the frame: he wants to give his maximum, he does not want to praise himself in advance, and he wants everything to be seen on the pitch. Such a message usually goes down well in environments that value work, but at the same time it leaves no room for excuses, because from the first appearance the player is expected to show energy and determination. With the signature, Rijeka gained a new story and a new option in attack, but also a new player who will very quickly feel how much performance in the match is valued at Rujevica, not just potential on paper.
Sources:- HNK Rijeka – official announcement about the contract signing and basic player information (link)
- HNK Rijeka – player statement and context (first Georgian in the club’s history, impressions of Rijeka and the league) (link)
- HNK Rijeka – official announcement about the Croatian champions title for the 2024/2025 season (link)
- HNK Rijeka – review of 2025 (double crown, European spring, membership and attendance data) (link)
- UEFA – information about the Croatia U-21 – Georgia U-21 match (19 November 2024) (link)
- UEFA – recap of the play-offs and Georgia’s qualification after penalties (link)
- YouTube – video statement by Tornike Morchiladze with the presentation (link)
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