Romania has produced some incredible footballers over the years, some of who have turned out for the biggest clubs in Europe. They have played for massive teams, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and Juventus, lighting up the leagues and commanding hefty transfer fees.
None of the following three Romanian football stars is active today, but we do wonder how they would fare in today’s game; they would be incredible! How many of these Romanian superstars do you think would be able to play for Europe’s top teams today?
Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe Hagi is not only the best Romanian footballer of all time, but he is also one of the best players to have ever kicked a football. Nicknamed “The Maradona of the Carpathians,” Hagi is a Romanian legend. Hagi was always the favorite with the best offshore sportsbooks to win the Romanian Footballer of the Year award, something he secured a record seven times in his career.
Hagi started his career with FC Constanta in 1982 before moving to Sportul Studentesc, where he scored 62 goals in 118 games. He moved to Steaua Bucuresti for four seasons, scoring 88 goals in 118 appearances, before Real Madrid signed him. Hagi transferred to Brescia, then FC Barcelona, before ending his career with Turkish side Galatasary at the end of the 2000-01 season. He scored 276 goals in 646 games from midfield and assisted hundreds more.
The man from Sacele was a talisman for the Romanian national team. He won 124 caps for Romania (only Dorinel Munteanu with 134 has more) and is the joint top scorer with 35 goals. If any youngsters reading this never got to see Hagi in action, we strongly suggest searching for some old footage because he was an unbelievable player.
Gheorghe Popescu
Gheorghe Popescu played at the same time as the legendary Hagi, although he was a defender, so he hardly received the same plaudits of the attacking star. Popescu’s career started with Universitatea Craiova in 1985. He stared here for six seasons, playing 133 games and scoring 18 times.
A loan spell at Steaua Bucuresti only lasted 16 games before Popescu moved to PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands, where he became known as one of the best central defenders in the world at the time. English Premier League team, Tottenham Hotspur, paid £2.9 million for Popescu’s services. He played one season before moving to FC Barcelona, where the Catalan club made him club captain.
Popescu spent two seasons in Spain, four in Turkey with Galatasaray, before turning out for Lecce of Italy, Dinamo Bucuresti, and Germany’s Hannover. He hung up his boots at the end of the 2002-03 season, having played 621 times and having scored 73 goals.
Adrian Mutu
Adrian Mutu makes this list despite the troubles and struggles he endured throughout his career. Mutu had undoubted talent and should be regarded as one of the greatest strikers ever, but his off-the-field issues put a black mark over him.
A young Mutu first played for Arges Pitesti and Dinamo Bucuresti between 1996 and 1999. He played a combined 89 games, scoring 45 goals. He moved to Inter Milan in 1999 but only played 10 games before switching to Hellas Verona, also of Serie A. Eighteen goals in 60 games saw Parma pay £9 million for Mutu’s services.
Twenty-two goals in 36 appearances, plus a Ballon d’Or nomination, resulted in Chelsea signing Mutu for €22.5 million in August. It is here where Mutu’s career began to unravel.
Mutu scored 10 goals in 38 games before testing positive for cocaine use in a random drugs test. FIFA banned Mutu for seven months, and he received a record €17 million fine. Juventus took a chance on the Romanian superstar, but the Italian giants were involved in their own scandal in 2006, which saw them relegated to the second tier. Fiorentina secured Mutu, and he scored 70 goals in 143 games five seasons before receiving a six-month ban for another failed drugs test.
He ended his career with five more clubs, including playing in the Indian Super League, before calling it a day at the end of the 2015-16 season.
Mutu earned 77 caps for Romania and scored 35 goals, tying him with Hagi as the nation’s all-time leading goalscorer. He also won the Romanian Footballer of the Year award on four occasions. You do wonder what heights Mutu could have reached had his off-field issues not surfaced.