As Liel Abada sealed his move from Celtic to Charlotte FC in the MLS yesterday, his time at the club was summed up perfectly after a trophy-laden two seasons at the club.
The Israeli had been dealing with personal issues over the past two months as he was receiving some disgusting online abuse from social media accounts in his homeland.
And whilst the deranged Ibrox element in Govan tried to peddle lies about Abada and the Celtic support, the fans all rallied around the winger with messages of support as rumours of his impending exit swirled.
And now that he’s gone, Abada’s time at Celtic has been summed up perfectly by Kevin Graham at A Celtic State of Mind.
Good luck to Abada as Celtic exit is sealed
Graham said, “The Abada situation, a great first season. That winning goal against Dundee United was probably the moment that kept us in the title race and then a couple of weeks later we beat Rangers 3-0 and he played a pivotal part in that.
“Sort of fell away last season and he hasn’t really contributed this season at all even before the political issues come into it.
“We’ve got really, really decent money for Abada. For a player who hasn’t really contributed for 18 months. For me anyway, top-level for 18 months.
“And who, I think, is limited in his game. Especially as a winger in a Brendan Rodgers side. He excelled as a winger just as Daizen Maeda excelled as a winger in an Ange Postecoglou side.
“Because you weren’t asked to play as a winger. But he has struggled in a Rodgers team just as everybody has struggled in a Rodgers team right enough.
“I think we’ve got great money for him considering the situation and also I think he was limited as a player.
“I never saw him as a big thing. I never saw him as our next next big move. And to get the money that we got for him was probably about £2m more than I thought that we might have got.
“And I always expected his move would have been down to the lower end of the English Premiership or the Championship.
“But good luck to him in America.” (A Celtic State of Mind)
Abada’s stats at Celtic are pretty decent. With 29 goals and 22 assists in 112 appearances, he certainly played his part in the club’s success in his first two seasons. [Transfermarkt]
What was clear this season though was that the Celtic winger was unhappy at the club. Especially after what he did at full-time against Hibs.
But as Kevin points out, he was limited in what he could do as a winger. He found it difficult to beat a man. Despite possessing decent pace, his ability to dribble past defenders was questionable.
However, what he did do well was having that ability to ghost in quietly at the back post and that is where was at his most dangerous.
Like Kevin, I wish Liel Abada well in his move from Celtic to the MLS and hope he finds the happiness he is looking for out in the US.
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