Brendan Rodgers spoke about the ‘desperately sad situation’ that resulted in Liel Abada leaving Celtic this week. The Celtic manager described it as a situation where there was no other alternative but to part company with the hugely talented 22 year old forward.
Best solution
The best solution, Celtic felt, was to allow, with great reluctance on the Celtic manager’s part, Abada to move to MLS side Charlotte FC for a bargain transfer fee of £10m. That’s a sum that Celtic could easily have doubled had the player developed under Rodgers’ guidance over the new few seasons.
That was the plan last September when Abada signed a new deal that effectively doubled his wages. However just a month later his world turned upside down due to the terrible events in the Middle East.
“It’s desperately sad, the whole situation. A fantastic young player who came in here as a 19-year-old.
No fault of his own or the club’s
“A young man who came to another country and came and lit up the field with so many fantastic goals, having a really successful period here.
“Whatever doubts he had in the summer, he was really happy to commit. He signed a new deal and then now – through no fault of his own or the club’s – he has had to leave to take his career elsewhere,” Rodgers said.
He’s created some wonderful memories here
“I spoke to Liel on Monday evening, we had him in the house as I knew he was going to be travelling the next morning. Desperately sad, because I was looking forward to working with him over a period of time to see if we could improve and develop his game. If you look back, he’s created some wonderful memories here. I’m sure Celtic and Glasgow will have a big place in his heart and we wish him all the very best over in America.”
Listen to Brendan’s media conference below to hear everything he had to say about Liel Abada’s transfer from Celtic…
