Lado Akhalaia

Lado Akhalaia (born 1 July 2002) is a Moldovan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Swiss Super League club Vaduz.

Career Having started out playing for Dacia Buiucani in Moldova, Akhalaia soon attracted the attention of several European clubs, including Sporting Portugal, where he spent several months on trial. However, his stay was cut short by the crisis of 2018, when the club's management was eventually dismissed after endangering the physical integrity of its players.

As a youth player, Akhalaia joined the youth academy of Moldovan second tier side Dacia Buiucani. In 2019, he joined the youth academy of Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A after trialling for the youth academies of Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting CP in Portugal.

In 2021, he signed for Serie A team Torino. In 2022, Akhalaia was sent on loan to Virton in the Belgian second tier. On 14 January 2023, he moved on a new loan to Swift Hesperange in Luxembourg.

On 28 January 2025, Akhalaia signed with Würzburger Kickers in German fourth-tier Regionalliga Bayern.

Personal life He is the son of Georgia international Vladimir Akhalaia and the grandson of Moldova international and manager Alexandru Spiridon.

Honours Swift Hesperange Luxembourg National Division: 2022–23