Less than a fortnight after helping the Socceroos reach the World Cup in Qatar, winger Awer Mabil has signed a four-year deal to ply his trade in Spain's La Liga next season.
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Mabil, who scored in the penalty shootout success over Peru in Doha, announced in his home town of Adelaide on Friday afternoon that he has joined Cadiz CF.
"It means everything to sign for Cadiz, to go to La Liga ... it's a dream come true for me and my family," Mabil said.
"I'm really, really excited and just can't wait."
The 26-year-old former Adelaide United attacker spent the back-end of last season on loan with Turkish club Kasimpasa, after making over 100 appearances in Denmark with FC Midtjylland since 2015.
Mabil played in the 2020-21 Champions League whilst with the Danish club and joined an illustrious list of Australians who have scored in Europe's top club competition.
Cadiz, based in Spain's south west, avoided relegation by one place and one point last season. They finished 17th out of 20 La Liga clubs after earning promotion back to the top flight in 2020 for the first time in 14 years.
"La Liga's one of the best leagues in the world and obviously got some of the best teams in the world in Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico," Mabil added.
"I never could have imagined playing against them and now it's like a reality.
"I just have to work hard now and win at Bernabeu, that will be amazing ... gonna give everything I can to try to win games ... but just looking forward to the challenges."
Mabil could open his 2022-23 campaign against his Socceroos captain Maty Ryan, with Cadiz set to play Real Sociedad on August 14.
Australian Associated Press
