Daniel "Dani" Abalo Paulos (; born 29 September 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right winger.
He began his career at Celta, playing almost exclusively in the Segunda División, and won the Bulgarian league title twice with Ludogorets.
Club career Celta Born in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Province of Pontevedra, Abalo joined local RC Celta de Vigo for his last year as a junior, then proceeded to make his senior debut with the B team in the Segunda División B. He made his first competitive appearance with the main squad, on 3 December 2006, coming in as a late substitute in a 2–2 La Liga away draw against RCD Mallorca. In late July 2009, he extended his contract with the Galicians until 2013, with a buyout clause of €10 million.
From 2008 to 2011, with Celta in the Segunda División, Abalo was an important first-team element. However, in the 2011–12 season, as the club returned to the top flight after an absence of five years, he contributed only four games and 67 minutes, being subsequently loaned in quick succession to Gimnàstic de Tarragona and S.C. Beira-Mar (the latter in Portugal).
Ludogorets On 26 June 2013, Bulgarian champions PFC Ludogorets Razgrad announced they were set to sign Abalo after he became a free agent shortly after. The transfer was completed the following day after he passed his medical, and the player agreed to a two-year contract, being given the number 17 shirt.
Abalo played his first game with his new team on 17 July 2013, featuring in a 2–1 defeat away to ŠK Slovan Bratislava in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. He made his league debut three days later in the 1–0 loss at FC Lyubimets; in the second leg against Slovan on the 24th, he scored twice for a 3–0 win at Ludogorets Arena and the subsequent qualification.
Abalo made his debut in the Champions League group phase on 16 September 2014, grabbing a 1–1 equaliser away against Liverpool in the 90th minute, but in an eventual 2–1 defeat. He repeated the feat in the second match between the two sides, a 2–2 draw.
Having won the league title in both of his seasons, Abalo left Ludogorets in May 2015 with the intention of returning to Spain or moving to England.
Later career On 24 July 2015, Abalo signed a two-year contract at Turkish Süper Lig club Sivasspor. He made his debut on 23 August, scoring from Cicinho's assist in a 4–2 loss at Eskişehirspor.
Abalo returned to his country on 20 January 2016, joining Deportivo Alavés until the end of the second-tier campaign. After gaining promotion with the Basques he travelled abroad again, to Poland's Korona Kielce on 3 September. He made his debut in the Ekstraklasa a week later, replacing compatriot Miguel Palanca for the final seven minutes of a 1–0 home win over Arka Gdynia; his first goal came on 17 October, again off the bench to equalise in a 1–2 loss to Śląsk Wrocław at the Kielce City Stadium.
On 31 August 2017, Abalo signed a three-year deal at FC Cartagena in Spain's third tier. His team won their group in his first season, but were eliminated from the playoffs by Extremadura UD, and in his second year he was loaned to UP Langreo of the same league; his contract was rescinded on 3 July 2019.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsCelta B2005–06Segunda División B153———002006–07343———002007–08354———00Total84100000008410Celta2006–07La Liga1000——102007–08Segunda División2010——302008–0935230——3822009–1029280——3722010–1133311—203642011–124020——602012–13La Liga0010——10Total104716100201228Gimnàstic (loan)2011–12Segunda División17000——170Beira-Mar (loan)2012–13Primeira Liga8200——82Ludogorets2013–14First Professional Football League2667193—42102014–152874183104111Total5413112176108321Sivasspor2015–16Süper Lig11110——121Alavés2015–16Segunda División7000——70Korona Kielce2016–17Ekstraklasa21100——2112017–181000——10Total221000000221Cartagena2017–18Segunda División B19030—102302018–191000——10Total200300010240Langreo (loan)2018–19Segunda División B31610——326Racing Ferrol2019–20Segunda División B15010——1602020–2112000——120Total270100000280Career total385403331764043949
Honours Ludogorets First Professional Football League: 2013–14, 2014–15 Bulgarian Cup: 2013–14 Bulgarian Supercup: 2014
Alavés Segunda División: 2015–16
References
External links
Celta de Vigo biography