Dani Abalo

Dani Abalo
Born	Daniel Abalo Paulos (1987-09-29) September 29, 1987 Vilagarcía de Arousa, Province of Pontevedra, Spain
Occupation	Professional footballer (retired)
Years active	2006–2019
Known for	Playing as a right winger for Celta, Ludogorets, and other clubs

Daniel "Dani" Abalo Paulos (; born 29 September 1987) is a retired Spanish professional football player who operated primarily as a right winger.

His early football development took place at Celta, where he predominantly competed in the Segunda División. Later in his career, he achieved two Bulgarian league championships while playing for Ludogorets.

Celta

Hailing from Vilagarcía de Arousa, located in the Province of Pontevedra, Abalo joined the youth ranks of local club RC Celta de Vigo during his final year as a junior. He progressed to their B team competing in Segunda División B. His first appearance for the senior squad occurred on 3 December 2006, entering as a late substitute in a 2–2 draw away at RCD Mallorca in La Liga. In July 2009, he renewed his contract with Celta until 2013, which included a €10 million release clause.

From 2008 to 2011, while Celta played in the Segunda División, Abalo was an integral member of the first team. Nevertheless, during the 2011–12 campaign—when Celta returned to the top flight after five years—he featured sparingly, accumulating only four appearances totaling 67 minutes. Following this limited involvement, he was loaned out first to Gimnàstic de Tarragona and subsequently to Portuguese club S.C. Beira-Mar.

Ludogorets

On 26 June 2013, reigning Bulgarian champions PFC Ludogorets Razgrad announced the acquisition of Abalo on a free transfer. The deal was finalized the following day after he passed medical examinations and signed a two-year contract, taking the squad number 17.

Abalo’s debut came on 17 July 2013 during a 2–1 away defeat to ŠK Slovan Bratislava in the second qualifying round. Three days later, he made his league debut in a 1–0 loss at FC Lyubimets 2007. On 24 July, he netted twice in a 3–0 home victory over Slovan, ensuring Ludogorets' progression in the competition.

He made his first appearance in the Champions League group stage on 16 September 2014, scoring an injury-time equalizer in a 2–1 defeat against Liverpool. He found the net again during the return fixture, which concluded with a 2–2 draw.

After securing back-to-back league titles with Ludogorets across two seasons, Abalo departed in May 2015 with intentions to either return to Spain or pursue opportunities in England.

Later career

On 24 July 2015, Abalo agreed to a two-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig outfit Sivasspor. He marked his debut on 23 August by scoring off an assist from Cicinho, although his side fell 4–2 away to Eskişehirspor.

Abalo returned to Spanish football on 20 January 2016, signing with Deportivo Alavés for the remainder of their second-tier season. Following promotion with Alavés, he ventured abroad once more by joining Polish club Korona Kielce on 3 September. His Ekstraklasa debut occurred a week later when he replaced fellow Spaniard Miguel Palanca during a 1–0 home win over Arka Gdynia. His inaugural goal for Korona came on 17 October, leveling the score in a 1–2 defeat against Śląsk Wrocław at the Kielce City Stadium.

On 31 August 2017, Abalo signed a three-year contract with Spanish third-division side FC Cartagena. In his initial season, the team topped their group but were eliminated from promotion playoffs by Extremadura UD. During his second year, he was loaned out to fellow third-tier club UP Langreo, and his contract was ultimately terminated on 3 July 2019.

Honours

Ludogorets

• Bulgarian A Professional Football Group: 2013–14, 2014–15
• Bulgarian Cup: 2013–14
• Bulgarian Supercup: 2014

Alavés

• Segunda División: 2015–16

External links

• Profile of Dani Abalo at Celta de Vigo

Club appearances and goals per season and competition

Team	Season	League			Domestic Cup		International		Other Competitions		Overall
		Level	Matches	Goals	Matches	Goals	Matches	Goals	Matches	Goals	Matches	Goals
Celta B	2005–06	Segunda División B	15	3	—		—		—		0	0
	2006–07		34	3	—		—		—		0	0
	2007–08		35	4	—		—		—		0	0
	Aggregate		84	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	84	10
Celta	2006–07	La Liga	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2007–08	Segunda División	2	0	1	0	—		—		3	0
	2008–09		35	2	3	0	—		—		38	2
	2009–10		29	2	8	0	—		—		37	2
	2010–11		33	3	1	1	—		2	0	36	4
	2011–12		4	0	2	0	—		—		6	0
	2012–13	La Liga	0	0	1	0	—		—		1	0
	Aggregate		104	7	16	1	0	0	2	0	122	8
Gimnàstic (loan)	2011–12	Segunda División	17	0	0	0	—		—		17	0
Beira-Mar (loan)	2012–13	Primeira Liga	8	2	0	0	—		—		8	2
Ludogorets	2013–14	Bulgarian First League	26	6	7	1	9	—		42	10
	2014–15		28	7	4	1	8	1	41	11
	Aggregate		54	13	11	2	17	6	1	0	83	21
Sivasspor	2015–16	Süper Lig	11	1	1	0	—		—		12	1
Alavés	2015–16	Segunda División	7	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
Korona Kielce	2016-17 Ekstraklasa	Ekstraklasa	21	1	0	0	—		—		21	1
	2017-18 Ekstraklasa		1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	Aggregate		22	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	1
FC Cartagena	2017-18 Segunda División B	Segunda División B	19	0	3	0	—		1	0	23	0
	Aggregate		20	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	24	0