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 playing for Romania in March 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Cristian Marian Manea | ||
Date of birth | (1997-08-09) 9 August 1997 (age 25) | ||
Place of birth | Agigea, Romania | ||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) | Right-back | ||
Club 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 | 61 | (3) |
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 | 20 | (2) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 November 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 June 2022 |
Born in Agigea, Constanța County, Manea is a youth exponent of Viitorul Constanța, for which he made his Liga I debut on 21 April 2014 in a 0–3 home loss to FC Steaua București.[1]
In 2014, an investment fund acquired player's rights and Manea arrived in Cyprus at Apollon Limassol.[2] The deal was reported to be €2.5 million.[3][4][5] Previously, Romanian media suggested that he had been sold to Chelsea for around £2.3 million,[6] but the rumours proved to be false.[7]
He spent the 2014–15 campaign on loan at former club Viitorul, and scored his first senior goal on 13 April 2015 in a 2–1 away defeat of Petrolul Ploiești.[8]
On 28 August 2015, he moved to Belgian team Royal Excel Mouscron on a season-long loan, which was extended for an additional year. Manea 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 in his two years at the club, winning back-to-back national championships.[10]
On 2 September 2019, FCSB have agreed a deal to sign Manea on loan with an option to buy the right back.[11]
Manea earned caps for Romania at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels.
In May 2014, aged 16, he was called up to the senior team by coach Victor Pițurcă despite having only made five club appearances at the time.[12] Manea made his debut as a starter against Albania on the 31st and subsequently became the youngest footballer to play for Romania, breaking the previous record set by Grațian Sepi in 1928.[13]
His first senior goal was recorded four years later on 5 June 2018, as he opened the scoring in a 2–0 friendly win over Finland at the Ilie Oană Stadium in Ploiești.[14]
On 15 September 2020, his spouse gave birth to a daughter.
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Viitorul Constanța | |||||||||||||
2013–14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||||
2014–15 (loan) | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 2 | |||
Total | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
Mouscron (loan) | |||||||||||||
2015–16 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 0 | ||||
2016–17 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | ||||
Total | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
CFR Cluj | |||||||||||||
2017–18 (loan) | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 35 | 0 | ||||
2018–19 (loan) | 34 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 1 | ||
2019–20 (loan) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 7 | 0 | |||
2020–21 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
2021–22 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 2 | ||
2022–23 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | ||
Total | 135 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 180 | 5 | |
FCSB (loan) | 2019–20 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
Career total | 182 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 235 | 7 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Romania | 2014 | 1 | 0 |
2015 | 2 | 0 | |
2016 | 0 | 0 | |
2017 | 0 | 0 | |
2018 | 6 | 1 | |
2019 | 1 | 0 | |
2020 | 2 | 0 | |
2021 | 5 | 1 | |
2022 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 20 | 2 |
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 June 2018 | Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania | 5 | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
2 | 5 September 2021 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania | 14 | ![]() | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
CFR Cluj
Individual
CFR Cluj – current squad | |
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