Ali Adnan Kadhim

Ali Adnan was born in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in the Adhamiyah vicinity on 19 December 1993. The attack minded left back comes from strong footballing stock with both his father and uncle having played at the top level during the 1970s and 80s. His father Adnan Kadhim played for the Iraqi youth team in 1977, and won the 1977 AFC Youth Championship in Tehran, and was a part of the squad of the first Iraqi youth side to play at the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship in Tunis, that same year. However, even though he played for first division clubs Al-Shabab, Al-Tijara and Al-Rasheed, he never made the ascent from club football to senior international football.

There he first played for the Baghdad FC's youth side and was invited to the senior team by head coach Yahya Alwan, at a relatively young age but because of the depth in the squad, he returned to the youth set-up. It was only after Karim Kurdi was appointed head coach of the club in 2010, that Adnan became a regular with the seniors. The coach was able to give the attacking left sided player the confidence in his own abilities and Adnan went from strength to strength, dislodging his idol and teammate, the Iraqi international Bassim Abbas on the left flank, first at club level and then with Iraq. He scored seven goals for Baghdad FC in total. Two were in the 2010/11 season (against Naft Maysan and Al-Hassanin), three were in the 2011/12 season (two against Kirkuk FC and one against Al-Sinaa) and two were in the 2012/13 season (against Al-Minaa and Al-Kahraba).

On 3 December 2012 at the age of 18, he announced his arrival on the international stage when he made his debut for the national side against Bahrain in Doha. In the process, Adnan became the first graduate from Ammo Baba’s football school to play for the senior team, only eleven years after the foundation of the school.

During the 2013 winter transfer window, the player received an offer from Saudi club Ittihad FC, to replace Croatian player Anas Sharbini. However the deal fell through when his agent was unable to complete the transfer. The player had been expected to fly to Saudi Arabia to hold negotiations but obtaining a visa to Saudi Arabia would have taken two days and the transfer window would close on the following day, so the deal could not be completed.

On 1 August 2013, Adnan officially agreed to sign a five-year contract deal with Çaykur Rizespor. He chose the shirt number 53, as it was the same year the club Çaykur Rizespor was established, in 1953, stating that he feels that Çaykur Rizespor is like his home. On 1 September 2013, Adnan scored his first goal in the Turkish Süper Lig for Çaykur Rizespor against Kayseri Erciyesspor in the 7th minute from long distance. On 14 September 2013, Adnan scored his second goal with Çaykur Rizespor against Gaziantepspor from a free kick from 35 metres. Adnan contributed to his team with 4 goals and 10 assists, due to the football and the team he played, he became one of the fans' favorite footballers during his time playing at Çaykur Rizespor.

On 2 September 2013, Napoli made a €7 million transfer bid to Çaykur Rizespor for Adnan on a five-year deal, but it was rejected by Çaykur Rizespor's board of directors. According to the rizesporlular.com.

On 1 July 2015, Ali Adnan was announced as Udinese's new signing with a five-year contract. This made Adnan the first ever Iraqi player to play in the Serie A. He made his competitive debut for the club in a 3–1 victory against Novara in the Coppa Italia, and his Serie A debut came in a 1–0 win away to defending champions Juventus. Adnan scored his first goal for the club by a free kick against Genoa where the game ended in a 2–1 defeat for his side. Adnan became a fan favorite at Udinese and impressed when he played. He had an impressive debut season in the Serie A, but his chances were limited in his second season after the arrival of a new manager and he was linked with moves away from the Italian club. Adnan impressed when he did play for Udinese, but his chances were limited as he was mainly used as a bench player and he has been linked with multiple moves away from the club.

Ali Adnan Kadhim regards his father as his idol and teacher in both life and sport. Throughout his career, his father has been by his side and was often seen at the Baghdad stadium watching his son from the sidelines. When Ali Adnan came out with his shock retirement from international football in 2016, his father called him on-air and spoke to him about reversing his decision and Ali Adnan eventually returned to the national team.

On 17 August 2018, Adnan joined Atalanta on a season-long loan, in a deal that saw Marco D'Alessandro moving to Udinese in exchange. After a dispute with the manager, Gasperini, he was told he'd be out of the manager's plans for the season. Since the dispute occurred after the winter transfer market closed, he was forced to make a loan move to an MLS side to continue playing until the end of the season. Atalanta qualified for the champions league that season, finishing third in Serie A.

On 9 March 2019, Major League Soccer's' Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced that they has secured a loan deal until the end of June. The Whitecaps later made the transfer permanent in July 2019.