Cristian Manea facts for kids
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Manea with CFR Cluj in 2023
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 9 August 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Agigea, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.83 m | ||
| Playing position | Right-back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Rapid București | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| 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) |
| 2020–2024 | CFR Cluj | 103 | (8) |
| 2024– | Rapid București | 15 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 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 | 25 | (2) |
† Appearances (Goals). |
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Cristian Manea (born on August 9, 1997) is a professional footballer from Romania. He plays as a right-back for the Liga I club Rapid București. He also plays for the Romanian national team.
Cristian started his senior career at Viitorul Constanța in 2014. Later that year, he moved to Apollon Limassol in Cyprus. He didn't play any games for them. Instead, he was loaned to several clubs. These included Viitorul, Mouscron, CFR Cluj, and FCSB.
In 2020, Manea officially joined CFR Cluj. He won seven national awards with them. In 2024, he joined Rapid București as a free agent. This means he moved without a transfer fee.
Cristian Manea made his debut for the Romanian national team in May 2014. He was the youngest player to do so since 1928. In 2019, he played for the under-21 team in the UEFA European Championship.
Contents
Cristian Manea's Club Career
Early Years at Viitorul Constanța
Cristian Manea was born in Agigea, a town in Constanța County, Romania. He learned to play football at the Gheorghe Hagi Football Academy. This academy is part of Viitorul Constanța. He made his first professional appearance for the club on April 21, 2014. It was a Liga I match against Steaua București.
Moving to Apollon Limassol
In the summer of 2014, Cristian's playing rights were bought by an investment group. He was then registered with the Cypriot team Apollon Limassol. There were rumors that he was sold to Premier League team Chelsea. However, this turned out to be false. Cristian himself said in 2018 that he thought he would join Chelsea. He also mentioned he had never actually been to Cyprus.
Loan Spells and Growth
Manea spent the 2014–15 season back on loan at his old club, Viitorul Constanța. He scored his first goal as a senior player on April 13, 2015. This was in a 2–1 away game against Petrolul Ploiești.
On August 28, 2015, Manea went on loan to Royal Excel Mouscron in Belgium. He stayed there for two seasons. He played 18 games in total for them. On June 27, 2017, he returned to Romania. He joined CFR Cluj on another loan. During his time there, he was a key player. He helped the team win two national championships in a row.
On September 2, 2019, Manea was loaned to another Liga I team, FCSB. He didn't play much there. So, on January 31, 2020, he went back to CFR Cluj on loan for the rest of the season.
Joining CFR Cluj Permanently
On September 6, 2020, Cristian Manea signed a four-year contract with CFR Cluj. He joined them permanently.
He scored his first goal in a European competition on August 3, 2021. It was in a 1–1 home draw against Young Boys. This game was part of the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.
Playing for Rapid București
On June 24, 2024, Manea agreed to a three-year contract with Rapid București. He joined them as a free agent, meaning his contract with CFR Cluj had ended.
Cristian Manea's International Career
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Cristian Manea has played for Romania at different youth levels. These include the under-16, under-17, under-19, and under-21 teams. In May 2014, he was called up to the senior team. This was a big deal because he had only played five club games at that time.
Manea made his debut for the senior team on May 31, 2014. He started the game against Albania. He was only 16 years, 9 months, and 22 days old. This made him the youngest footballer to play for Romania since 1928. He broke the record set by Grațian Sepi.
He scored his first goal for Romania on June 5, 2018. It was the first goal in a 2–0 friendly win against Finland. The game was played in Ploiești. The next year, he played in all four matches for the under-21 team. This was during the 2019 UEFA European Championship. Romania reached the semi-finals but lost to Germany.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Viitorul Constanța | 2013–14 | Liga I | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Viitorul Constanța (loan) | 2014–15 | Liga I | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 2 | ||
| Mouscron (loan) | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| CFR Cluj (loan) | 2017–18 | Liga I | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | Liga I | 34 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 1 | ||
| Total | 69 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 79 | 1 | |||
| FCSB (loan) | 2019–20 | Liga I | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| CFR Cluj (loan) | 2019–20 | Liga I | 5 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| CFR Cluj | 2020–21 | Liga I | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Liga I | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Liga I | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 5 | ||
| 2023–24 | Liga I | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| Total | 108 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 149 | 9 | |||
| Rapid București | 2024–25 | Liga I | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 239 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 301 | 13 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Manea goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 June 2018 | Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania |  Finland |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 5 September 2021 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania |  Liechtenstein |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours and Awards
CFR Cluj
- Liga I: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
- Supercupa României: 2018, 2020
Individual Awards
- Liga I Team of the Season: 2017–18, 2022–23
See also
In Spanish: Cristian Manea para niños
