Cristian Manea

Cristian Marian Manea (Romanian pronunciation: [kristiˈan mariˈan ˈmane̯a]; born 9 August 1997) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Liga I club CFR Cluj and the Romania national team.

Cristian Manea
Manea with CFR Cluj in 2023
Personal information
Full name Cristian Marian Manea
Date of birth (1997-08-09) 9 August 1997
Place of birth Agigea, Romania
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 CFR Cluj
Number 4
Youth career
2009–2013 Gheorghe Hagi Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Viitorul Constanța 5 (0)
2014–2020 Apollon Limassol 0 (0)
2014–2015 → Viitorul Constanța (loan) 26 (2)
2015–2017 → Mouscron (loan) 14 (0)
2017–2019 → CFR Cluj (loan) 69 (1)
2019–2020 → FCSB (loan) 2 (0)
2020 → CFR Cluj (loan) 5 (0)
2020– CFR Cluj 87 (7)
International career‡
2013 Romania U16 2 (0)
2013–2014 Romania U17 6 (0)
2014–2016 Romania U19 8 (0)
2014–2019 Romania U21 19 (0)
2021 Romania Olympic 2 (0)
2014– Romania 24[note 1] (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 September 2023

Manea started out as a senior at Viitorul Constanța in 2014, and moved to Apollon Limassol during that summer. He did not feature in any games for the Cypriots, being loaned out consecutively to Viitorul, Mouscron, CFR Cluj, FCSB and again CFR Cluj. Manea signed a permanent deal with the latter in 2020, and won seven domestic honours during his stints in Cluj-Napoca.

Internationally, Manea became the youngest player to make his debut for Romania after playing in a 1–0 win over Albania in May 2014.[note 2] In 2019, he represented the under-21 side in the UEFA European Championship.

Club career

Viitorul Constanța

Born in Agigea, Manea spent his junior years in the academy of Viitorul Constanța. He made his professional debut for the club on 21 April 2014, in a 0–3 Liga I home loss to Steaua București.[1]

Apollon Limassol

In the summer of 2014, an investment fund acquired Manea's playing rights and he was registered by Cypriot side Apollon Limassol. The transfer fee was rumoured to be worth €2.5 million.[2][3][4]

Previously, Romanian media reported that Manea had been sold to Premier League team Chelsea for roughly £2.3 million,[5] but the rumour proved to be false.[6] In May 2018, the player himself stated that he had believed he would sign for Chelsea and that he had never physically been to Cyprus.[7]

Various loans

Manea spent the 2014–15 campaign on loan at his former club Viitorul Constanța, and scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 away defeat of Petrolul Ploiești on 13 April 2015.[8]

On 28 August 2015, Manea moved to Belgian team Royal Excel Mouscron on a season-long loan, which was extended for another year. He amassed 18 appearances in all competitions before returning to Romania on 27 June 2017, joining CFR Cluj also on loan.[9] He was an undisputed starter during his stint, winning back-to-back national championships.[10]

On 2 September 2019, fellow Liga I team FCSB agreed a deal to sign Manea on loan with an option to buy.[11] He fell out of favour at the Bucharest-based club, and on 31 January 2020 returned to CFR Cluj on loan for the remainder of the season.[12]

CFR Cluj

On 6 September 2020, Manea signed a four-year deal with CFR Cluj for an undisclosed transfer fee.[13]

International career

Manea earned caps for Romania at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels. In May 2014, he was called up to the senior team by manager Victor Pițurcă, despite having only made five club appearances at the time.[14] Manea made his debut as a starter against Albania on the 31st that month, aged 16 years, 9 months and 22 days. He became the youngest footballer to play for Romania since 1928, after breaking the record set by Grațian Sepi.[15][note 2]

Manea registered his first senior goal for the country on 5 June 2018, scoring the opener in a 2–0 friendly win over Finland at the Ilie Oană Stadium in Ploiești.[16] The following year, he featured for the under-21 side in all four matches of the 2019 UEFA European Championship, where Romania was eliminated by Germany in the semi-finals.[17]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 2 September 2023[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Viitorul Constanța
2013–14 Liga I 5000— — — 50
Viitorul Constanța (loan)
2014–15 Liga I 2621020— — 292
Mouscron (loan)
2015–16 Belgian Pro League 7020— — — 90
2016–17 Belgian Pro League 7010— — — 80
Total 140300 0 0 0 0 0170
CFR Cluj (loan)
2017–18 Liga I 35000———350
2018–19 Liga I 34140—5[lower-alpha 1]01[lower-alpha 2]0441
Total 69140—5010791
FCSB (loan) 2019–20 Liga I 2020— — — 40
CFR Cluj (loan) 2019–20 Liga I 50——2[lower-alpha 3]0—70
CFR Cluj
2020–21 Liga I 26010—5[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 2]0330
2021–22 Liga I 25100—13[lower-alpha 4]11[lower-alpha 2]0392
2022–23 Liga I 30500—14[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 6]0455
2023–24 Liga I 6100—2[lower-alpha 7]0—81
Total 92710—361301328
Career total 20810110204114026611
  1. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearance in Supercupa României
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Five appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, six appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  5. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, 12 appearances in UEFA Conference League
  6. Appearance in Liga I European play-offs
  7. Appearances in UEFA Conference League

International
As of match played 9 September 2023[19]
Manea playing for Romania in a game against Sweden, 23 March 2019.
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania 201410
201861
201910
202020
202151
202250
202340
Total242
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Manea goal.[19]
List of international goals scored by Cristian Manea
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 June 2018Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania Finland1–02–0Friendly
2 5 September 2021Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania Liechtenstein2–02–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

CFR Cluj[18]

Individual

References

Notes

  1. Manea previously earned two caps for Romania B in 2015, hence the statistical inacurracies.
  2. Manea's record was broken by Enes Sali in 2021, who made his senior debut aged 15 years, 8 months and 22 days.

Citations

  1. "Viitorul Constanța-Steaua 0-3 / Prima victorie după 3 etape, cea mai clară în deplasare după 2 luni" [Viitorul Constanța-Steaua 0–3 / First victory after 3 fixtures, the biggest away in 2 months] (in Romanian). Știrile TVR. 21 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  2. "EXPLOZIV! Ce ascunde Hagi: Manea nu e jucătorul lui Chelsea, ci al lui Apollon Limassol! Transferul prin care un "super-impresar" fentează regulamentul FIFA. Partea I" [EXPLOSIVE! What Hagi is hiding: Manea is not the player of Chelsea, but of Apollon Limassol! The transfer by which a "super-agent" outsmarts FIFA rules. Part I] (in Romanian). ProSport. 10 February 2016.
  3. "18 jucători = 16 milioane de euro. Armata vândută de Hagi, profitul din tolbă şi cum arată 11-le tip al celor mai valoroşi fotbalişti cedaţi pe bani mulţi" [18 players = 16 million euros. The army sold by Hagi, the profit from the quiver and what the first eleven of the most valuable footballers sold for a lot of money looks like] (in Romanian). ProSport. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  4. "Ce se întâmplă cu Cristi Manea, unul dintre cei mai buni jucători de la EURO 2019. "Se antrenează prin parcuri!"" [What is happening with Cristi Manea, one of the best players of EURO 2019. "He trains in the parks!"] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 21 August 2019.
  5. "EXCLUSIV Manea va semna cu Chelsea" [EXCLUSIVE Manea will sign for Chelsea] (in Romanian). Dolce Sport. 15 September 2014.
  6. "INFOGRAFIE » Manea, istoria unui transfer dubios" [INFOGRAPHIC » Manea, the history of a suspicious transfer]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 12 May 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  7. "EXCLUSIV | Cristi Manea retrăieşte transferul la Chelsea: "Am izbucnit în plâns când am aflat că, de fapt, merg în Belgia". Cum a fost păcălit cel mai tânăr debutant din istoria naţionalei" [EXCLUSIVE | Cristi Manea relives the transfer to Chelsea: "I burst into tears when I found out that, in fact, I was going to Belgium." How the youngest debutant in the history of the national team was tricked] (in Romanian). Orange Sport. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  8. "FINAL WHISTLE / Petrolul – Viitorul 1-2. Echipa lui Gica Hagi emite pretentii la cupele europene!" [FINAL / Petrolul - Viitorul 1–2. Gică Hagi's team is pushing for European Cups!] (in Romanian). Sport Total FM. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  9. "Cristi Manea, la CFR Cluj! Fundașul, împrumut pe un an de Apollon Limassol" [Cristi Manea, to CFR Cluj! The defender, loaned for one year from Apollon Limassol]. Libertatea (in Romanian). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  10. "CFR Cluj: lotul de jucători și alte date statistice" [CFR Cluj: player squad and other statistics] (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  11. "OFICIAL Cristi Manea a semnat cu FCSB și devine cel mai bine plătit fotbalist din Liga 1!" [OFFICIAL Cristi Manea signed with FCSB and becomes the highest paid footballer in Liga 1!]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 2 September 2019.
  12. "Cristi Manea s-a transferat de două ori în mai puțin de 24 de ore! Cum a ajuns să semneze cu CFR" [Cristi Manea transferred twice in less than 24 hours! How he ended up signing with CFR] (in Romanian). ProSport. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  13. "EXCLUSIV // E oficial: calvarul s-a încheiat! Cristi Manea a scăpat definitiv de Apollon și s-a transferat în Liga 1" [EXCLUSIVE // It's official: the struggle is over! Cristi Manea got rid of Apollon for good and transferred to Liga 1]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 6 September 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  14. "Debut pentru istorie » Victor Piţurcă propune patru surprize pentru turneul "naţionalei" din Elveţia" [Debut for history » Victor Pițurcă proposes four surprise players for the national team's tour in Switzerland]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 25 May 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  15. "A fost doborît un record vechi de 86 de ani! Cristi Manea a devenit cel mai tînăr tricolor din istorie" [An 86-year-old record was broken! Cristi Manea became the youngest Tricolour in history]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 31 May 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  16. "România – Finlanda 2–0, în ultimul meci al lui Lobonț din carieră" [Romania – Finland 2–0, in the last match of Lobonț's career]. Romanian Football Federation. 5 June 2018. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  17. "Germany 4–2 Romania". UEFA.com. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  18. Cristian Manea at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  19. "Cristian Manea". European Football. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  20. "FOTO&VIDEO | CFR Cluj a câștigat Supercupa României!" [PHOTO&VIDEO | CFR Cluj won the Romanian Supercup!] (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
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