Damià Abella

Damià Abella Pérez (born 15 April 1982), known simply as Damià, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a full-back.

After starting out at Barcelona, he went on to amass La Liga totals of 198 matches and five goals over nine seasons, also representing in the competition Racing de Santander, Betis and Osasuna. He also spent two years in England, with Middlesbrough.

Club career Barcelona Born in Olot, Girona, Catalonia, Damià's first professional club was local Figueres, for whom he played during the 2003–04 season, in the Segunda División B. He was subsequently acquired by national giants Barcelona, being assigned to its B side.

Due to many injuries to the main squad, Damià made his La Liga debut for Barça's first team against Athletic Bilbao on 30 October 2004, playing 90 minutes in a 1–1 away draw as right-back. However, he could never break into the main squad, finishing the campaign with ten competitive games while continuing to appear for the reserves.

In January 2006, Damià joined Racing de Santander on a one-and-a-half-year loan. He mainly operated at the position he knew from Barcelona B, right midfielder, and scored his first top-flight goal on 12 February in a 2–0 away win over Espanyol, eventually helping the Cantabrians to narrowly avoid relegation while starting 15 matches.

Betis In summer 2006, Real Betis signed Damià on a five-year contract for €1 million; although Racing had agreed with Barcelona that the player would stay with them for the duration of the loan arrangement, they decided not to block the move, but a serious hip injury, contracted while still with in Santander, Santander, meant that he would be unregistered for the entire length of 2006–07. He made his competitive debut on 30 September 2007, playing as right-back in a 3–0 home defeat of Mallorca after having successfully undergone surgery in the United States.

Damià netted his first goals for the Andalusians in 2008–09, in consecutive matches early into the campaign (2–1 loss at Villarreal, 3–0 home win against Mallorca), but the club suffered relegation after nine years.

Osasuna In late July 2010, after Betis' unsuccessful attempt in regaining their lost status, Damià joined Osasuna. He went on to spend several seasons in that tier, almost exclusively as a left-back in spite of being right-footed.

Damià left the Riverside Stadium in May 2016, upon the expiration of his contract. He appeared in only seven competitive games during his spell, and decided to retire at 34 soon afterwards.