[2] During his career he was almost exclusively associated with Sporting de Gijón and Barcelona, having amassed La Liga totals of 385 matches and 24 goals over 14 seasons, and also managed the former club for three years.

Signing with FC Barcelona for the 1994–95 season in a 275 million pesetas deal, he was always an important first-team element, helping the Catalans to two leagues, cups and supercups, adding another two European trophies.

[3] Aged 32, Abelardo joined Deportivo Alavés, initially signing a two-year deal[4] but retiring after just one season[5] due to a recurrent knee injury that had already bothered him at Barcelona.

Abelardo was also an essential member of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, netting in both the semi-finals (2–0, Ghana) and the final (3–2 over Poland).

[16] Late into the following season, he led them to a 4–1 away win over neighbouring Real Oviedo and, one week later, replaced the sacked José Ramón Sandoval at the helm of the main squad.

[17] Amidst severe financial problems, he led them to promotion back to the top flight in his first full season, and quit his post in January 2017 due to irreconcilable differences.