Liel Abada

Liel Abada (, ; born ) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC and the Israel national team.

Early and personal life Abada was born in Petah Tikva, Israel, to a family of Mizrahi Jewish descent. At the age of 13, his first manager in Maccabi Petah Tikva took Abada's father Ronen and him to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in Barcelona. His younger brother Orel Abada is also a footballer who plays for Hapoel Ra'anana.

Except for a three-month period in 2022, he has been in a relationship with Israeli Bar Rashti since 2020.

Club career

Maccabi Petah Tikva Abada made his professional debut for Maccabi Petah Tikva in the Israel State Cup on 22 August 2019, coming on as a 63rd minute substitute against Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan, in a match that ended in a 4–1 home win for his team. On 9 September 2019, he scored his first senior Israeli Liga Leumit goal in the 90th minute against Bnei Sakhnin, that finished as a 1–1 home draw for Maccabi Petah Tikva. On 30 August 2020, Abada scored his first Israeli Premier League goal, which coincided with his team's 86th minute winning goal, earning his side a 1–2 away victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Celtic On 14 July 2021, Scottish Premiership club Celtic announced the signing of Abada on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of £3.6 million. On 20 July 2021, he scored on his debut in the first leg of Celtic's Champions League second round qualifying match against Danish side Midtjylland, that ended in a 1–1 home draw. On 21 August 2021, in his third Scottish Premiership appearance, Abada scored both his and Celtic's first two league goals, that led to a 6–0 home victory over St. Mirren. On 4 November 2021, he scored the winning goal for Celtic in a 2021–22 UEFA Europea League Group stage match against Hungarian side Ferencváros. On 26 December 2021, Abada netted an early brace in a 2021–22 Scottish Premiership match against St. Johnstone, earning his team a 1–3 away win. Abada won the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award for 2021–22. On 3 September 2022, he scored both the first and third goal against Rangers in an Old Firm derby league match, that ended in a 4–0 home win for Celtic. Abada made his debut UEFA Champions League Group stage appearance on 6 September 2022, opening against Spanish side Real Madrid. On 19 October 2022, he scored a brace in the span of 11 minutes and later on added an assist against Motherwell in the 2022–23 Scottish League Cup quarter-finals, to lead his team to a 4–0 away victory. In January 2023, Abada was featured in the official 40-man list composed by UEFA.com – which named the best young players in the continent that: "have the potential to take European football by storm in 2023".

On 1 September 2023, Abada signed a new four-year contract with Celtic. His career with Celtic was affected by the Gaza war, as the Green Brigade fans group demonstrated their support for the Palestinians. Abada met with Celtic senior management after these displays, which had led to him being criticised in Israel, and Celtic issued a statement saying that it was "inappropriate" for the fans to show those messages. Abada was injured at the time the war started, and he returned to the team in December. and then confirmed that Abada could leave the club. On 8 March 2024, Abada left Celtic for a fee of $8 million , around £6 million.

Charlotte FC Abada moved to Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC on 8 March 2024.

International career He also plays for Israel's U-21 since 2020. He made his senior debut with the Israel national team on 5 June 2021, in a friendly match against Montenegro, where he substituted Yonas Malede in the 61st minute with the score at 0–0; the game ended with a 3–1 away victory for Israel. He scored his first senior goal against Iceland, during a 2022–23 UEFA Nations League match on 2 June 2022, which ended in a 2–2 home draw for his native Israel.

2024 Summer Olympics Abada was selected for Israel's squad to compete in the men's football at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Abada goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Liel Abada # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 2 June 2022 Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel 1–0 2–2 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B

Honours Maccabi Petah Tikva U20 Israeli Noar Premier League: 2018–19

Maccabi Petah Tikva Liga Leumit: 2019–20

Celtic Scottish Premiership: 2021–22, 2022–23 Scottish Cup: 2022–23 Scottish League Cup: 2021–22 2022–23

Individual PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year: 2021–22