Abada is Charlotte FC's Biggest Signing Ever
Israeli National Liel Abada joins Charlotte from Celtic for a signing fee of $8 million, the largest ever for the club, but reports differ as to the exact reason for his departure from Europe.
Liel Abada Sets Charlotte FC Record
On Thursday, March 7, the wait was the hardest part.
Members of the media were hanging out at Charlotte FC headquarters in south Charlotte, waiting for news about Charlotte’s new signing, winger Liel Abada. It was all-but-confirmed Charlotte had acquired the 22-year-old Abada from Celtic F.C. as a Young Designated Player.
Abada’s deal had been signed earlier in the week, but the transfer was subject to approval from Major League Soccer - a hurdle that isn’t present in many European leagues (technically, every MLS player is an MLS employee).
The club’s content team teased the signing all morning with videos, tweets, and and graphics as the assembled press wondered what would come first: Dean Smith’s press conference, or an announcement.
Instead, they were roughly simultaneous.
An Eight Million Dollar “No-Brainer”
A source familiar with the negotiations told Soccer Sheet Abada’s transfer fee is a record for Charlotte FC, but not as high as what has been reported in Scottish press (£8-10 million). Charlotte FC paid $6.3 million for its previous record signing, Enzo Copetti; a source with knowledge of MLS operations confirmed to Soccer Sheet Abada’s transfer fee was approximately $8 million, which would be a record for the club.
Charlotte FC General Manager Zoran Krneta confirmed to Soccer Sheet that Abada’s signing was the club’s biggest “for now.”
“He will help us win games,” said Krneta. “He has a fantastic record for 22-years-old.”
Smith has stated on numerous occasions that he considers a winger the club’s biggest need. When we asked if Abada was the biggest piece Charlotte FC was missing, Krneta confirmed: “Yes. One hundred percent yes.”
“I’m really pleased. [Abada] is a player that I know well, coming from the U.K.,” said Smith at a press conference. “There’s not many English people who don’t know about Celtic and Rangers players.”
Glasgow-based clubs Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. are almost universally regarded as the two best Scottish teams, and Smith told me later in the press conference both teams are of the caliber to play in the English Premier League. Abada is Charlotte’s first transfer from Celtic; Scott Arfield joined the Crown from Rangers last year.
“This is a 22-years-old talented prospect from Europe coming to MLS,” said Krneta. “It’s very rare that you have a top European talent coming from Europe to MLS. Usually it is the other way around, or you get a older talent [at the end of their career] coming to MLS. From that perspective, I think this is huge for us.”
Krneta is correct that the circumstances are abnormal; it would be rare to see a young European player like Jude Bellingham come to MLS, and talented, young U.S. nationals like Paxten Aaronson quickly leave MLS for European teams.
However, Abada has not played for Celtic in weeks, and a campaign of harassment against the Israeli winger is to blame.
“Abada has been completely left out of the squad in recent weeks as it is believed that he is not in the right state of mind to play,” reported Sports Illustrated Media Group blog The Celtic Hoops.
“To be honest, [without] some of the circumstances, I don’t think we’d be able to get him as easy from Celtic,” said Krneta. “We’ve known [about] him for some time, we made the request and approached Celtic about a year ago about him, and they categorically said ‘no chance.’”
“So I think this was a one-off situation that we could not miss,” said Krneta, calling the deal a “no-brainer.”
Israel-Hamas War Leads to Harassment, Departure
Abada was born in Petah Tikva, Israel less than a month after the September 11th terrorist attacks. He is of Mizrahi descent, meaning his ancestors stayed in either the Land of Israel or the Middle East during the Jewish diaspora.
Abada grew up playing for youth teams in Israel - including the national youth teams - before rising to the first team of Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. (MPT) in 2019. In his first full season with the first team, Abada scored 8 goals and MPT won promotion to the Israeli Premier League; in his second and final full season, he scored 13 goals as MPT made it to the playoffs.
Since 2021, Abada has played for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership; in his first two seasons with the club he scored a total of 20 goals in league play in addition to goals in cup and Europa League play. However, prior to moving to Charlotte FC, he only had one goal for Celtic, and had missed the last five matches.
Abada’s coach at Celtic, Brendan Rodgers, is quoted as saying the player has not been in the right “frame of mind” since the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7th, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. While reports agree that Abada was not playing due to harassment related to the conflict, the reports differ on the source of the harassment.
Hamas’ unprecedented terrorist attack on Israeli citizens, as well as the terrorist group’s refusal to release Israeli hostages or guarantee their safety, begat a response from Israel’s government in the following months that has killed over 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly civilians and children, and displaced almost two million people.
The anger on every side of the conflict has made its way to international football, with European football supporters groups taking sides - usually the side of the Palestinian people and the civilian victims of the conflict, but sometimes alongside more extreme, antisemitic elements. Celtic F.C. ultras have frequently flown Palestinian flags since the October 7th attacks.
Different Coaches, Different Motives?
Media outlets covering Charlotte FC, including Soccer Sheet, have not spoken to Abada yet; until then, we can only report on our conversations with Charlotte FC’s front office, and what conflicting sources have reported. However, he addressed the departure in his own words on his Instagram, calling the past six months a “personal challenge” despite overwhelming support from the Celtic organization:
Many factors for Abada’s departure have been reported, with conflicting narratives coming from folks who have coached the young winger. The three main conflicting claims are:
Abada is leaving due to pro-Palestine flags and messages in the stands at Celtic; and/or,
Abada is leaving due to harassment from pro-Palestine Celtic supporters; or,
Abada is leaving because fans in Israel are harassing him for playing for a team with pro-Palestine supporters.
Abada’s former coach at Maccabi Petah Tikvah presents one side of the story:
Israeli footballer Liel Abada has left Celtic FC after being treated "disgustingly” by pro-Palestine fans of the team, according to a statement by his former manager earlier this week.
Avi Luzon, chief of Israeli club Maccabi Petah Tikvah where Abada rose to fame before transferring to Celtic in 2021, said on Sport 5 that the fans “left him no choice” but to leave the Glasgow-based football club.
“On a personal level, Liel Abada felt very bad with everything that was happening, including the indignation of the fans on the street towards him — more than once,” Luzon said during an interview with the Israeli sports channel.
However, unofficial Celtic F.C. news blog Celts Are Here disputes the idea that Celtic supporters are to blame. It quoted Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers as saying, “I’m not aware of that. I speak regularly with Liel. It’s sadly a situation which doesn’t put him in the right frame of mind to play.”
This move comes amid pressure from his home country to leave the club, because of a section of the Celtic fans’ support of Palestine …
It’s crucial to remember the strong support Abada has received from Celtic fans, notably during the Glasgow Derby in December. Following his return from injury, amidst heightened tensions between Israel and Palestine, Abada was met with an overwhelmingly positive reception from the Celtic supporters.
There are only one group of fans forcing Abada out of Celtic, and it’s not the one in the stands at Parkhead.
"It's desperately sad he's left, because we're losing a very, very good player," said Rodgers at a recent press conference. "But we wish him all the best.”
When we spoke to Krneta about the transfer he was able to offer some insight into the transfer.
“I honestly believe the large majority of Celtic fans loved [Abada], and don’t hold any grudges against him, but the situation as we all know was difficult for him,” said Krneta. “He [was dealing] with something that he wasn’t prepared for … and that situation got out of control.”
When asked specifically about harassment from Abada’s home country, Rodgers pointed to many factors leading to the change. “There [were] multiple reasons for him not to be in that frame of mind [to play].”
Charlotte FC Thinks Abada Will Be a Fan Favorite
Though MLS approved the transfer last week, due to visa issues and international play, Abada is not expected to appear for the team until March 30th, when Charlotte FC plays reigning Supporters’ Shield winners FC Cincinnati.
Krneta told Soccer Sheet fans will be pleased with Abada.
“[He’s] an attractive player,” said Krneta. “[He’s] a player that can score goals and assists, contributes goals - the most important thing for ever soccer club in the world is to score goals.
“We want to play attacking football,” Krneta continued. “This is exactly the type of player who will make [fans] pleased.”
Krneta told us Abada was excited to come to MLS, and happy to come to Charlotte specifically, quoting the winger as saying, “This is the type of club for me.”