Rareș Ilie
Romanian footballer (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rareș Andrei Ilie (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈrareʃ anˈdrej iˈli.e]; born 19 April 2003) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie B club Empoli, on loan from Ligue 1 club Nice.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rareș Andrei Ilie | ||
| Date of birth | 19 April 2003[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania[1] | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Empoli (on loan from Nice) | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Cautis Steaua Sudului | ||
| 2014–2019 | Juniorul București | ||
| 2019–2020 | Rapid București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Rapid București | 58 | (9) |
| 2022– | Nice | 6 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Lausanne-Sport (loan) | 29 | (3) |
| 2025 | → Catanzaro (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2025– | → Empoli (loan) | 26 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021 | Romania U18 | 2 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | Romania U19 | 12 | (2) |
| 2021–2025 | Romania U21 | 15 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 June 2025 | |||
Ilie started his senior career with Rapid București at the age of 17, amassing over 58 matches in Romania's first two leagues before signing with French club Nice in 2022.
At the international level, he has represented the under-18, under-19 and under-21 teams.
Club career
Rapid București
Ilie made his senior debut for Rapid București on 5 September 2020, aged 17, in a 2–1 victory over Pandurii Târgu Jiu in the Liga II.[2] On 19 November the same year, he scored his first senior goal in a 1–0 league win against Universitatea Cluj. During the 2020–21 season, he amassed three goals from 22 appearances, as Rapid Bucureşti finished as Liga II runners-up and secured direct promotion.
On 18 July 2021, Ilie made his Liga I debut by starting in a 1–0 win over Chindia Târgoviște.[3] His first goal in the competition came on 19 November, in a 2–2 away draw against the same opponent. Ilie featured in 38 matches and scored six goals in all competitions during the 2021–22 campaign, and established himself as a regular first-team player.
Nice
On 14 July 2022, Rapid București shareholder Victor Angelescu announced an agreement for the move of Ilie to Ligue 1 club Nice.[4] The French side officially announced his signing three days later,[5] and the press generally reported the transfer fee as €5 million plus potential bonuses.[6][7]
Ilie made his debut on 7 August 2022, coming on as a substitute in the 64th minute for Alexis Beka Beka in a 1–1 league draw at Toulouse,[8] and one week later, he started in a 1–1 home draw against Strasbourg.[9] On 18 August, he made his European debut in a 0–1 away loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round.
Loan moves
On 1 February 2023, Ilie moved to Israeli Premier League team Maccabi Tel Aviv on loan for the remainder of the season.[10] He started in eight league matches and did not score.
On 20 June 2023, Ilie signed for newly-promoted Swiss Super League club Lausanne-Sport on a season-long loan deal.[11] On 29 July, he scored the opening goal in a 1–1 home draw against Grasshoppers.
On 24 January 2025, Ilie signed for Italian Serie B club Catanzaro on a six-month loan, with an option to make the move permanent.[12]
On 9 July 2025, Ilie returned to Serie B and joined Empoli on a loan deal, with an option to buy.[13]
Career statistics
- As of match played 25 April 2026[14]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rapid București | 2020–21 | Liga II | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 3 | ||
| 2021–22 | Liga I | 36 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 6 | |||
| Total | 58 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 60 | 9 | ||||
| Nice | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan) | 2022–23 | Israeli Premier League | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Lausanne-Sport (loan) | 2023–24 | Swiss Super League | 29 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 4 | ||
| Catanzaro (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie B | 15 | 0 | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2025–26 | Serie B | 26 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 28 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 142 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 156 | 15 | ||
- Includes Cupa României, Israel State Cup, Swiss Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
