Wikiwand AI

List of foreign Liga I players

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of foreign players in the Liga I, which commenced play in 1909. The following players must meet both of the following two criteria:

  1. Have played at least one Liga I game. Players who were signed by Liga I clubs, but only played in lower league, cup and/or European games, or did not play in any competitive games at all, are not included.
  2. Are considered foreign, i.e., outside Romania determined by the following:
A player is considered foreign if he is not eligible to play for the national teams of Romania.

More specifically,

  • If a player has been capped on international level, the national team is used; if he has been capped by more than one country, the highest level (or the most recent) team is used. These include Romanian players with dual citizenship. Players who played for Romania but came as foreign players (such as István Avar) are also listed.
  • If a player has not been capped on international level, his country of birth is used, except those who were born abroad from Romanian parents or moved to Romania at a young age, and those who clearly indicated to have switched their nationality to another nation.

Clubs listed are those that the player has played at least one Liga I game for.

Seasons listed are those that the player has played at least one Liga I game in. Note that seasons, not calendar years, are used. For example, "1992–1995" indicates that the player has played in every season from 1992–1993 to 1994–1995, but not necessarily every calendar year from 1992 to 1995.

In bold: players that have played at least one Liga I game in the current season (2026–27) and the clubs they've played for. They include players that have subsequently left the club, but do not include current players of a Liga I club that have not played a Liga I game in the current season.

Albania

Roland Agalliu was the first foreign footballer who arrived in Romania after the 1989 Romanian Revolution.

Algeria

Angola

Argentina

Sebastián Dubarbier won two Liga I titles with CFR Cluj and was the first winner of the Liga I Foreign Player of the Year award.
Pablo Brandán won the Liga I title with Unirea Urziceni and Viitorul Constanța, and was named the Liga I Foreign Player of the Year in 2009.
Emmanuel Culio won six Liga I titles with CFR Cluj.
Gabriel Viglianti won the Liga I title with Oțelul Galați.

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Ronald Gërçaliu played briefly in Liga I for Universitatea Cluj.

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Belgium

Benin

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

International Jovo Lukić was the league's top scorer in the 2025–26 season with 18 goals.
Branko Grahovac won the Liga I title with Oțelul Galați.
International Mateo Sušić won three consecutive Liga I titles with CFR Cluj.

Brazil

Eric de Oliveira won the Liga I Foreign Player of the Year award twice.
Júnior Morais played in 320 Liga I matches, winning the title with Astra Giurgiu.
Juliano Spadacio scored 25 goals in 107 Liga I games for Rapid București and Astra Ploiești.
During his time at Astra, William de Amorim managed to win the Liga I title.
Rafael Bastos won the Liga I title with CFR Cluj.
Adaílton concluded his European career by spending two years at FC Vaslui, scoring 17 goals in 59 Liga I appearances.
Yuri Matias won the Liga I title with CFR Cluj.
Júlio Baptista ended his playing career with CFR Cluj.
Gláuber spent two seasons in Liga I with Rapid București.

Bulgaria

Radoslav Dimitrov appeared in 216 Liga I games for FC Botoșani, CS Universitatea Craiova and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe.
Zhivko Milanov made 104 Liga I appearances for FC Vaslui.
Plamen Iliev played 133 Liga I matches while representing five different teams.

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

Before winning together the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, Collins Fai (left) and Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui (right) played in Liga I for Dinamo București and FC Botoșani respectively.
Patrick Ekeng died while playing for Dinamo București in a Liga I game against Viitorul Constanța.
Joyskim Dawa won two consecutive Liga I titles with FCSB.

Canada

Lars Hirschfeld won a Liga I title with CFR Cluj.

Cape Verde

Fernando Varela won two Liga I titles with Steaua București and once the Liga I Foreign Player of the Year award.

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

Colombia

Dayro Moreno and Juan Toja played together for Steaua București.

Comoros

Congo

Congo DR

Jeremy Bokila had a prolific period in his single season at Petrolul Ploiești, scoring 16 goals in 32 games.

Costa Rica

Croatia

With 22 goals scored for Rapid București, Marko Dugandžić was the top-scorer of the 2022–23 Liga I season.
Damjan Đoković played for CFR Cluj in three different periods, winning four Liga I titles, and also winning another one with FCSB.
Gabriel Debeljuh won two Liga I titles with CFR Cluj.
Juraj Badelj won the Liga I title with CS Universitatea Craiova.
International Saša Bjelanović played for CFR Cluj during two separate stints.

Cuba

Curaçao

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Zdeněk Ondrášek had a short stint in Liga I with FCSB.

Denmark

Djibouti

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

England

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Faroe Islands

Finland

France

Nicolas Godemèche is pictured with the 2011–12 Liga I trophy.
Cyril Théréau scored 10 goals for Steaua București in his single Liga I season.
Steven Nsimba won the Liga I title with CS Universitatea Craiova.
Kurt Zouma had a short stint in Liga I with CFR Cluj

French Guiana

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Anzor Mekvabishvili won a Liga I title with CS Universitatea Craiova.

Germany

Ghana

Nana Boateng won a Liga I title with CFR Cluj.

Greece

Pantelis Kapetanos, who scored a total of 48 goals in Liga I, won the title with both CFR Cluj and Steaua București.
Panagiotis Tachtsidis spent two seasons in Liga I with CFR Cluj.

Guadeloupe

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hong Kong

Hungary

Hungary's Mighty Magyar, Gyula Lóránt (left), and the Romanian-Hungarian international József Pecsovszky (right) won the Liga I title in their single season together at UTA Arad.

Iceland

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Klemi Saban played briefly in Liga I for Steaua București.

Italy

Andrea Compagno was named the Liga I Foreign Player of the Year in 2022.
International Diego Fabbrini spent three seasons in Liga I with FC Botoșani and Dinamo București.
Federico Piovaccari, in his single season spent at Steaua București, scored 10 goals and won the Liga I title.
Roberto De Zerbi won two Liga I titles with CFR Cluj

Ivory Coast

CFR Cluj was Lacina Traoré's first European club.

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kosovo

Latvia

Lebanon

Liberia

Lithuania

Giedrius Arlauskis won seven Liga I titles with three different teams: one with each of Unirea Urziceni and Steaua București, and five with CFR Cluj.

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Yacouba Sylla had two short stints in Liga I with CFR Cluj and Botoșani.

Martinique

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Moldova

Eugeniu Cebotaru played for Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, Academica Clinceni, and Petrolul Ploiești for a total of seven seasons in Liga I, accumulating 167 games and 17 goals.

Montenegro

Risto Radunović won two Liga I titles with FCSB and was named the 2024 Foreign Player of the Year.
Vladimir Božović spent five years at Rapid București, playing in 131 Liga I games.

Morocco

Mozambique

Netherlands

New Caledonia

New Zealand

Nigeria

Kehinde Fatai started his senior career at Farul Constanța, and later played for Astra Giurgiu, Argeș Pitești and Oțelul Galați, scoring a total of 46 goals in Liga I.

North Macedonia

Daniel Georgievski won two Liga I titles with Steaua București.

Norway

Palestine

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Łukasz Szukała won three consecutive Liga I titles with Steaua București and was the Liga I Foreign Player of the Year in 2014.

Portugal

Mário Camora, who won six Liga I titles with CFR Cluj, also gained Romanian citizenship and represented Romania’s national team internationally.
Ricardo Cadú won a hat-trick of Liga I titles with CFR Cluj.
Filipe Teixeira played for five different Liga I clubs and won the title with Astra Giurgiu.
Tony won two Liga I titles with CFR Cluj.
International goalkeeper Beto won the Liga I title in his sole season at CFR Cluj.
Geraldo Alves spent the last years of his career playing for three teams in Liga I, winning the title with Astra Giurgiu.
Rui Duarte appeared in over 100 Liga I matches for FC Brașov and Rapid București.
Samuel Teles won the Liga I title with CS Universitatea Craiova.
Mário Felgueiras spent four seasons in Liga I, one with FC Brașov and three with CFR Cluj.

Russia

Rwanda

Saint Lucia

Saudi Arabia

Scotland

Senegal

Ibrahima Baldé won a Liga I title with CFR Cluj.

Serbia

Milan Perendija won the Liga I title with Oțelul Galați.
International Nikola Stevanović won the Liga I title with CS Universitatea Craiova.
Slavko Perović played briefly in Liga I for Dinamo București.

Sierra Leone

Slovakia

International goalkeeper Dušan Kuciak had a three-year spell in Liga I at FC Vaslui.
International Adam Nemec scored 47 goals in Liga I for Dinamo București and FC Voluntari.

Slovenia

Miha Mevlja made his international debut for Slovenia during his spell at Dinamo București.

South Africa

South Korea

Spain

International Aleix García played briefly in Liga I for Dinamo București.
Pablo de Lucas played over 100 Liga I matches for four teams.

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Mikael Dorsin won a Liga I title with CFR Cluj.

Switzerland

Syria

Tajikistan

Togo

Daré Nibombé was Liga I runner-up with Politehnica Timișoara.

Tunisia

Turkey

Uganda

Ukraine

Oleksandr Romanchuk (left) and Pavlo Isenko (right) helped CS Universitatea Craiova win the 2025–26 Liga I title.

United States

Uruguay

World Cup semi-finalist and Copa América winner Álvaro Pereira spent his first season in Europe at CFR Cluj.

Venezuela

Alexander González played briefly in Liga I for Dinamo București.

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Notes

  1. ^
    Born in Albania
  2. ^
    Born in Angola
  3. ^
    Born in Australia
  4. ^
    Born in Austria
  5. ^
    Born in Austria (then part of Austria-Hungary)
  6. ^
    Born in Belarus (then part of the Soviet Union)
  7. ^
    Born in Belgium
  8. ^
  9. ^
    Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina (then part of SFR Yugoslavia)
  10. ^
    Born in Brazil
  11. ^
    Born in Cameroon
  12. ^
    Born in Canada
  13. ^
    Born in Cape Verde
  14. ^
    Born in Croatia
  15. ^
    Born in Croatia (then part of SFR Yugoslavia)
  16. ^
  17. ^
  18. ^
    Born in England
  19. ^
    Born in France
  20. ^
    Born in Germany
  21. ^
    Born in Ghana
  22. ^
    Born in Greece
  23. ^
  24. ^
    Born in Italy
  25. ^
    Born in Ivory Coast
  26. ^
    Born in Kosovo (then part of SFR Yugoslavia)
  27. ^
    Born in Kosovo (then part of FR Yugoslavia)
  28. ^
    Born in Luxembourg
  29. ^
    Born in Netherlands
  30. ^
    Born in Nigeria
  31. ^
    Born in Norway
  32. ^
    Born in Paraguay
  33. ^
    Born in Poland
  34. ^
    Born in Portugal
  35. ^
  36. ^
    Born in the Réunion
  37. ^
    Born in Romania
  38. ^
    Born in Romania (then part of Austria-Hungary)
  39. ^
    Born in Russia
  40. ^
    Born in Serbia (then part of SFR Yugoslavia)
  41. ^
    Born in Serbia (then part of FR Yugoslavia)
  42. ^
    Born in Slovakia (then part of First Czechoslovak Republic)
  43. ^
    Born in South Africa
  44. ^
    Born in Spain
  45. ^
    Born in Sweden
  46. ^
    Born in Switzerland
  47. ^
    Born in Turkey
  48. ^
    Born in the Uganda
  49. ^
    Born in the Ukraine
  50. ^
    Born in the USA
  51. ^
    Born in West Germany (now part of Germany)
  52. ^
  53. ^
  54. ^
  55. ^
  56. ^
  57. ^
  58. ^
  59. ^
  60. ^
    Capped for the Belgium national under-20 football team
  61. ^
  62. ^
  63. ^
  64. ^
  65. ^
  66. ^
  67. ^
  68. ^
  69. ^
  70. ^
  71. ^
  72. ^
  73. ^
  74. ^
  75. ^
  76. ^
  77. ^
  78. ^
  79. ^
  80. ^
  81. ^
  82. ^
  83. ^
  84. ^
  85. ^
  86. ^
  87. ^
  88. ^
  89. ^
  90. ^
  91. ^
  92. ^
  93. ^
    Capped for the Ivory Coast national under-19 football team
  94. ^
  95. ^
  96. ^
  97. ^
  98. ^
  99. ^
  100. ^
  101. ^
  102. ^
  103. ^
    Capped for the Norway national under-15 football team
  104. ^
    Capped for the Norway national under-16 football team
  105. ^
  106. ^
  107. ^
  108. ^
  109. ^
  110. ^
  111. ^
  112. ^
  113. ^
  114. ^
  115. ^
  116. ^
  117. ^
  118. ^
  119. ^
    Capped for the Romania national under-15 football team
  120. ^
  121. ^
  122. ^
    Capped for the Romania national under-18 football team
  123. ^
  124. ^
  125. ^
  126. ^
  127. ^
  128. ^
  129. ^
  130. ^
  131. ^
  132. ^
    Capped for the Switzerland national under-15 football team
  133. ^
  134. ^
  135. ^
  136. ^
  137. ^
  138. ^
  139. ^
  140. ^
  141. ^
  142. ^
  143. ^
  144. ^
  145. ^
  146. ^

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks