Veteran MLS Attacker Obtained at Significantly Reduced Budget Charge in Exchange for General Allocation Money; RSL Also Receives 2028 MLS SuperDraft Third-Round Pick from ATL
HERRIMAN, Utah (Wed., July 1, 2026) — Real Salt Lake has acquired M/F Saba Lobjanidze from Atlanta United FC for the remainder of the 2026 Major League Soccer regular season. The transaction also includes Atlanta’s third-round pick in the 2028 MLS SuperDraft, with RSL sending $625,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to Atlanta, which would receive an additional $100,000 in 2027 GAM if Lobjanidze re-signs with the Claret-and-Cobalt.
Born on December 18, 1994 in Tbilisi, Georgia, shortly after the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, Lobjanidze – a current U.S. green card holder, qualifying as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes – arrived in the North American top-flight in August, 2023, signing with Atlanta, where he recorded 15 goals and added 21 assists in 93 career appearances for United. Thus far in 2026, Saba owns two goals and one assist in 13 appearances with Atlanta, the 15th-placed Eastern Conference side.
“This addition of Saba to our roster should provide depth at multiple positions and competition in training each day,” said RSL’s Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Kurt Schmid, noting that Lobjanidze arrives at RSL with a significantly reduced budget charge for the remainder of the 2026 season. “With nearly 100 games played in MLS during the last three years, we expect Saba to adjust quickly to our system, which we think accentuates his attacking strengths and puts him in a position to succeed. We look forward to integrating him quickly as we prepare for our upcoming Burnley FC friendly and our Leagues Cup matches, in addition to the remaining 20 MLS regular-season matches this season.”
Coming to North America from Turkish SüperLig side Hatayspor in summer 2023, Lobjanidze (FULL PRONUNCIATION: SAH-bah Lobe-jah-NEET-zay) made an immediate impact, starting six of his nine appearances and notching three goals and four assists in 467 minutes during the regular season, including a goal in his MLS debut on Aug. 26, coming off the bench in a 4-0 win against Nashville. Lobjanidze made his first MLS start on Sept. 2 against FC Dallas in 2-2 draw, later recording two assists in Atlanta’s 5-2 win against Inter Miami. In the MLS Cup Playoffs, the winger made three appearances (two starts) and added an assist in Game Two of Atlanta’s Round One series against Columbus.
Lobjanidze’s first full season in MLS saw him enjoy a breakout campaign in 2024 for Atlanta, scoring 10 goals in MLS, nine of which came in the regular season. The Georgian international added seven assists to give him a single-season career-high 17 goal contributions in the League in his first full season, also tallying another goal in Leagues Cup action. Lobjanidze also represented his native Georgia at Euro 2024 in the country’s first major international competition, making one appearance in the group stage. In 2025, Lobjanidze tied for the Atlanta team lead in both assists (seven) and appearances (33) during the regular season, again adding a goal and an assist in Leagues Cup competition.
Now 31-years-old, Lobjanidze brings a wealth of professional experience to Real Salt Lake. Since turning professional in the 2014-15 season as a teenager, Lobjanidze boasted 288 total appearances, 69 goals and 57 assists across all club competitions prior to his MLS arrival three years and 93 games ago. The Tbilisi native began his professional career coming through the ranks of his hometown club Dinamo Tbilisi. He made his first division debut on Aug. 10, 2014 for Dinamo in a 2-0 victory. His first goal came in his first start in a 6-0 victory over Shukura. Dinamo won two trophies that season, the Georgian Cup and SuperCup, while Lobjanidze would add the Georgian league title to his resume the following season.
During three seasons in his native country, he made 60 total appearances with 12 goals and 14 assists, before making a move to Denmark with Randers FC in the summer of 2017. In his first full season in the Danish Superliga, the Georgian winger played a pivotal role in helping Randers avoid relegation. After scoring three goals during the regular season, Lobjanidze turned it on in the relegation playoff, scoring six goals in six matches to keep his side in the top flight, going on to start all 38 of his appearances the following season across all competitions. In his final season in Denmark, Lobjanidze scored nine goals and added three assists in only 16 matches before being transferred to Ankaragücü in the Turkish SüperLig.
The Tbilisi native became a main fixture for his side instantly, starting 45 of 53 matches in his two seasons with the club before signing with Hatayspor in the summer of 2021 after Ankaragücü suffered relegation. Lobjanidze scored eight goals and added eight assists in his first Süper Lig season with Hatayspor in 2021-22. He began last season with Hatayspor, making 21 appearances in league play before an earthquake forced the club to withdraw from competition. Lobjanidze spent the rest of the year on loan at Karagümrük, contributing two goals and two assists as the team finished in seventh place.
Internationally, Lobjanidze has earned 43 caps for Georgia, scoring four goals. Saba made his national team debut on Jan. 23, 2017, scoring in a friendly against Uzbekistan. He was selected to the Euro 2024 squad and made one appearance in the group stage. He has experience playing in World Cup and UEFA Euro Qualifiers, as well as UEFA Nations League with his country.
MLS CAREER
2026 (Atlanta United):
MLS: Started in eight of 13 appearances, scoring two goals and adding one assist.
2025 (Atlanta United):
MLS: Started 23 of his 33 appearances. Tied for the team lead with seven assists and 33 appearances. Tallied two assists against FC Cincinnati on March 22.
Leagues Cup: Started two of his three appearances and added one goal and one assist.
2024 (Atlanta United):
MLS: Started 29 of his 30 appearances in MLS this season. He tallied a team-high nine goals during the regular season. He added seven assists to give him a single-season career-best 16 goal contributions. Lobjanidze also finished near the top of the team in total shots (82) and shots on target (28) this season in 2,467 minutes played.
MLS Cup Playoffs: Started and played every minute of all five playoff matches for Atlanta. Scored the final penalty in the Wild Card Round against CF Montreal to help Atlanta advance. He scored in the Best-of-three series win against Miami. He tallied 10 shots with five of them on target in the playoffs.
Leagues Cup: Started both games and scored in the 3-3 draw against D.C. United.
U.S. Open Cup: Started one match against Indy Eleven in the quarterfinals.
2023 (Atlanta United):
MLS: Started six of his nine appearances after joining during the summer transfer window. Tallied three goals and four assists in 467 minutes. Scored a goal in his league debut on Aug. 26 in 4-0 win against Nashville. Made his first MLS start on Sept. 2 against FC Dallas in 2-2 draw. Recorded two assists in 5-2 win against Inter Miami on Sept. 16.
MLS Cup Playoffs: Started two of his three appearances in Round One series against Columbus Crew. Recorded an assist in Atlanta’s 4-2 win in Game 2.
During the current World Cup break, RSL ranks third overall in the MLS Western Conference, also tied for fifth in the MLS Supporters Shield race, with an 8-4-2 (W-L-T) mark and 26 points through its first 14 games of the 2026 MLS season – RSL’s second-best 14-game start in its 22-year Club history (28 points in 2024).
RSL players, coaches and staff have recently resumed sessions for its summer preseason at its Herriman-based Zions Bank Training Center. RSL will play a trio of preseason matches, including closed-door scrimmages on June 27 and July 8, before hosting English Championship side Burnley FC at America First Field in Sandy on Wednesday, July 15, prior to a return to 2026 MLS reg. season action on Wed., July 22, at Los Angeles Football Club. RSL also travels to Portland on Sat., July 25 and St. Louis on Sat., August 1 in Major League Soccer action prior to a trio of Leagues Cup contests at home.
The fourth-year MLS vs. Liga MX tournament sees RSL host the legendary Tigres UANL on Tues., August 4 at America First Field, kicking off a run that also sees Atlante CF on Sat., August 8 and FC Juarez on Tues., August 11, prior to home MLS contests against Minnesota United on Sat., August 15 and FC Dallas on Wed., August 19. Those five home games in 16 days could be critical to RSL’s 2026 campaigns on various fronts, with Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side boasting seven wins in eight home matches so far in 2026.
Please visit www.RSL.com/tickets for more information on RSL’s MLS and Leagues Cup slates.
