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Liel Abada

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Liel Abada
Abada playing for Celtic in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-10-03) 3 October 2001 (age 25)
Place of birth Petah Tikva, Israel
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Charlotte FC
Number 11
Youth career
2006–2014 Hapoel Petah Tikva
2014–2019 Maccabi Petah Tikva
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Maccabi Petah Tikva 67 (20)
2021–2024 Celtic 79 (21)
2024– Charlotte FC 66 (12)
International career‡
2017 Israel U16 6 (1)
2017–2018 Israel U17 21 (2)
2018 Israel U18 4 (0)
2018–2019 Israel U19 12 (4)
2020–2022 Israel U21 8 (1)
2021– Israel 21 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 April 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:14, 4 October 2026 (UTC)

Liel Abada (Hebrew: ליאל עבדה, /lɪˈɛl/ lih-EL; born 3 October 2001) 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

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Abada was born in Petah Tikva, Israel, to a family of Mizrahi Jewish descent.[2] 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.[3] His younger brother Orel Abada is also a footballer who plays for Hapoel Ra'anana.[3] Abada is observant and does not play football on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur.[4]

Except for a three-month period in 2022,[5] he has been in a relationship with Israeli Bar Rashti since 2020.[6]

Club career

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Maccabi Petah Tikva

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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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Celtic

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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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] Abada won the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award for 2021–22.[15]

On 28 August 2022, Abada scored a hat-trick and assisted one goal, in a 9–0 away win against Dundee United in the 2022–23 Scottish Premiership.[16] 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.[17] Abada made his debut UEFA Champions League Group stage appearance on 6 September 2022, opening against Spanish side Real Madrid.[18] 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.[19] 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".[20][21]

On 1 September 2023, Abada signed a new four-year contract with Celtic.[22] His career with Celtic was affected by the Gaza war, as the Green Brigade fans group demonstrated their support for the Palestinians.[23][24] 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.[25] Abada was injured at the time the war started, and he returned to the team in December.[26] Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said in February 2024 that it was "challenging" for Abada to produce his best form in the circumstances,[26] and then confirmed that Abada could leave the club.[27] On 8 March 2024, Abada left Celtic for a fee of $8 million [28], around £6 million.

Charlotte FC

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Abada moved to Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC on 8 March 2024.[29]

International career

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He also plays for Israel's U-21 since 2020.[30]

Abada was first called up to the Israeli senior side on 18 March 2021, ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA).[31] 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.[32] 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.[33]

2024 Summer Olympics

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Abada was selected for Israel's squad to compete in the men's football at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[34]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 14 September 2025[35]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Maccabi Petah Tikva 2018–19 Israeli Premier League 201000–30
2019–20 2985000–348
2020–21 36122140–4213
Total 67208140–7921
Celtic 2021–22 Scottish Premiership 3610313112[c]35415
2022–23 341041425[d]04713
2023–24 91101000111
Total 7921828317311229
Charlotte FC 2024 Major League Soccer 277–––277
2025 2852130–336
Total 55122130–6013
Career total 2015318415317325163
  1. ↑ Includes Israel State Cup, Scottish Cup, U.S. Open Cup
  2. ↑ Includes Toto Cup, Scottish League Cup, Leagues Cup
  3. ↑ Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

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As of 4 October 2026[30]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Israel 202140
202251
202310
202450
202530
202630
Total211
Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Abada goal.[36]
List of international goals scored by Liel Abada
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.2 June 2022Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel Iceland1–02–22022–23 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

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Maccabi Petah Tikva U20

Maccabi Petah Tikva

Celtic

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Liel Abada".
  2. ↑ Reporter, Jewish News (15 July 2021). "Celtic sign Israeli international winger Liel Abada". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com.
  3. 1 2 "סולומון החדש של הלוזונים: הטירוף סביב ליאל עבדה - ספורט 5". 14 April 2020.
  4. ↑ McGarry, Graeme (15 September 2021). "Liel Abada to miss Real Betis test through religious reasons as Ange Postecoglou mulls over Celtic captaincy". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "כוכב נבחרת ישראל חזר לאקסית: "אני הכי שמחה בעולם"". ספורט 1 (Sport 1 - Maariv) (in Hebrew). 12 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "New Celtic star Liel Abada's girlfriend poses in Hoops top after he signs". 9 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "מכבי עירוני פתח תקווה 4 : 1 הכח עמידר רמת גן". Israel Football Association. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "Maccabi Petah Tikva vs. Bnei Sakhnin - 9 September 2019 - Soccerway".
  9. ↑ "Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Maccabi Petah Tikva - 30 August 2020 - Soccerway".
  10. ↑ "Celtic sign Israel winger Abada". BBC Sport.
  11. ↑ "Celtic-Midtjylland | UEFA Champions League 2021/22".
  12. ↑ "David Turnbull hat-trick helps Celtic hit another six in thrashing of St Mirren". The Guardian. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "Ferencváros-Celtic | UEFA Europa League 2021/22".
  14. ↑ "St. Johnstone vs. Celtic - 26 December 2021 - Soccerway".
  15. 1 2 "Celtic take five prizes at PFA Scotland awards, including manager of the year". BBC Sport. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Dundee United 0–9 Celtic: Celtic strolled to an incredible record-breaking away league victory by humiliating beleaguered Dundee United to climb back to the top of the Scottish Premiership". BBC Sport. 28 August 2022.
  17. ↑ "Celtic overwhelm Rangers to lay down title marker". BBC Sport.
  18. ↑ UEFA.com. "Celtic-Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League 2022/23". UEFA. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "Abada bags double as Celtic set up Kilmarnock semi". BBC Sport.
  20. ↑ UEFA.com (4 January 2023). "Players to watch out for in 2023: Who could star in European football this year?". UEFA. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "The curious case of Liel Abada, Celtic's 'breakout star'". Celtic Way. 5 January 2023.
  22. ↑ "Liel Abada: Celtic winger agrees new four-year deal". www.skysports.com. Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  23. ↑ "Celtic fans defy club by showing support for Palestine in Champions League – video". the Guardian. 26 October 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  24. ↑ O'Hare, Liam. "'We're on the right side of history': Celtic's growing feud over Palestine". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  25. ↑ Paton, Ewan (10 October 2023). "Liel Abada 'meets' Celtic board over fans' Palestine display". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  26. 1 2 McGarry, Graeme (9 February 2024). "Rodgers on 'challenging' Celtic situation for Abada". The Herald. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  27. ↑ "Celtic: Liel Abada loan a possibility - Brendan Rodgers". BBC Sport. 16 February 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  28. ↑ "Charlotte FC acquire winger Liel Abada from Celtic FC". MLSsoccer.com. 7 March 2024.
  29. ↑ "Liel Abada: Celtic winger departs for Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC". BBC Sport. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  30. 1 2 "Israel Football Association - Liel Abada".
  31. ↑ "סגל הנבחרת למוקדמות המונדיאל: זימון בכורה לעבדה, רפאלוב בחוץ". הארץ.
  32. ↑ "Montenegro v Israel game report". ESPN. 5 June 2021.
  33. ↑ "Israel-Iceland | UEFA Nations League 2023".
  34. ↑ "פריז, אנחנו באים!!!" [Yes, please leave!!!]. Facebook (in Hebrew). Israel Football Association. 11 July 2024.
  35. ↑ "Israel - L. Abada - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  36. ↑ "Israel - L. Abada - Profil mit News, Karriere Statistiken und Historie - Soccerway". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  37. ↑ "Dundee United 1–1 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side reclaim league title". BBC Sport. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  38. ↑ Watt, Martin (7 May 2023). "Heart of Midlothian 0–2 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side seal back-to-back titles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  39. ↑ Duncan, Thomas (3 June 2023). "Celtic 3–1 Inverness CT: Ange Postecoglou's side win Scottish Cup to claim treble". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  40. ↑ "Hibernian 1–2 Celtic". BBC Sport.
  41. ↑ Moffat, Colin (26 February 2023). "Kyogo strikes twice as Celtic beat Rangers in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
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