Cătălin Cîrjan
Romanian footballer (born 2002)
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Cătălin Ionuț Cîrjan (Romanian pronunciation: [kətəˈlin joˈnuts kɨrˈʒan]; born 1 December 2002) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga I club Dinamo București, which he captains, and the Romania national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cătălin Ionuț Cîrjan | ||
| Date of birth | 1 December 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Dinamo București | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2019 | Viitorul Domnești | ||
| 2019–2023 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2024 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Rapid București (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2024– | Dinamo București | 85 | (15) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Romania U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Romania U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2025– | Romania | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 September 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 6 June 2026 | |||
Club career
Early career / Arsenal
During his junior years, Cîrjan was part of the youth setup of lower league team Viitorul Domnești,[1][2][3] before moving to Premier League club Arsenal in July 2019.[4][5][6]
Serious knee injuries during his time in London sidelined his development for over a year. On 24 May 2022 however, it was announced that Cîrjan had agreed to a new contract with Arsenal.[7] After his appearance in a friendly with Boreham Wood, Cîrjan experienced a 480-day gap before returning to action in an under-21 match in August 2022. By the following month, he resumed training with the first-team squad.[8]
On 23 June 2023, after several weeks of rumours,[9] Cîrjan returned to Romania by signing for Liga I club Rapid București on a one-year loan.[10] He made his debut as a senior in a goalless league draw with Sepsi OSK on 14 July. During his spell, Cîrjan started in only seven out of 17 Liga I appearances and did not score any goals.
In the summer of 2024, Cîrjan left Arsenal upon the expiration of his contract.[11]
Dinamo București
On 13 June 2024, Cîrjan agreed to a three-year contract with Rapid București's cross-town rivals Dinamo București,[12] being assigned the number 10 jersey. He started and scored on debut on 14 July, in a 2–3 away Liga I loss to CFR Cluj.[13] He scored again one week later, in a 4–1 home win over Petrolul Ploiești.[14]
As a result of his efficient start to the season, Cîrjan was named Romania Player of the Month for July 2024 by the Gazeta Sporturilor website.[15]
Career statistics
- As of match played 5 September 2026[16]
| Club | Season | League | Cupa României | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rapid București (loan) | 2023–24 | Liga I | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Dinamo București | 2024–25 | Liga I | 39 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 42 | 8 | ||
| 2025–26 | Liga I | 38 | 7 | 5 | 1 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 44 | 8 | ||
| 2026–27 | Liga I | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 9 | 2 | |||
| Total | 85 | 15 | 9 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | 95 | 18 | |||
| Career total | 102 | 15 | 11 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | 114 | 18 | |||
- Appearances in Liga I European play-offs
International
- As of match played 6 June 2026.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | |||
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |