kids encyclopedia robot

Cristian Manea facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Cristian Manea
Cristian Manea - CFR Cluj - Lazio 0-0 (cropped).png
Manea with CFR Cluj in 2023
Personal information
Full name Cristian Marian Manea
Date of birth (1997-08-09) 9 August 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth Agigea, Romania
Height 1.83 m
Playing position Right-back
Club information
Current club 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)
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 24 (2)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 September 2023.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 September 2023

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.

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. 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.

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.

Previously, Romanian media reported that Manea had been sold to Premier League team Chelsea for roughly £2.3 million, but the rumour proved to be false. 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.

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.

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. He was an undisputed starter during his stint, winning back-to-back national championships.

On 2 September 2019, fellow Liga I team FCSB agreed a deal to sign Manea on loan with an option to buy. 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.

CFR Cluj

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

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. 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.

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. 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.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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 6 1 0 0 2 0 8 1
Total 92 7 1 0 36 1 3 0 132 8
Career total 208 10 11 0 2 0 41 1 4 0 266 11

International

Cristi Manea - Sweden vs Romaina 23 March 2019 (cropped)
Manea playing for Romania in a game against Sweden, 23 March 2019.
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
Total 24 2
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Manea goal.
List of international goals scored by Cristian Manea
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 June 2018 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

CFR Cluj

  • Liga I: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
  • Supercupa României: 2018, 2020

Individual

  • Liga I Team of the Season: 2017–18, 2022–23

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cristian Manea para niños

kids search engine
Cristian Manea Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.