Rareș Pop
Romanian footballer (born 2005)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rareș Mihai Pop (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈrareʃ miˈhaj ˈpop]; born 14 June 2005) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder for Liga I club Petrolul Ploiești, on loan from Rapid București.
|
Pop with UTA Arad in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rareș Mihai Pop | ||
| Date of birth | 14 June 2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Arad, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Right midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Petrolul Ploiești (on loan from Rapid București) | ||
| Number | 55 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2010 | Gloria Arad | ||
| 2010–2020 | Atletico Arad | ||
| 2020–2022 | UTA Arad | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2024 | UTA Arad | 53 | (6) |
| 2024– | Rapid București | 30 | (4) |
| 2024 | → UTA Arad (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2026– | → Petrolul Ploiești (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2020 | Romania U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2022 | Romania U17 | 3 | (1) |
| 2022 | Romania U18 | 6 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Romania U19 | 12 | (3) |
| 2022–2025 | Romania U20 | 8 | (1) |
| 2023– | Romania U21 | 8 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 November 2025 | |||
Club career
UTA Arad
Pop made his Liga I debut for UTA Arad on 1 May 2022, coming on for David Miculescu in the 79th minute of a 0–1 away loss to FC U Craiova.[1] He scored his first professional goal on 19 October that year, in a 2–2 draw with FCSB in the Cupa României group stage.
On 11 February 2023, Pop netted his first Liga I goal and also provided an assist in a 3–1 home victory over Botoșani, and on 2 March scored again in a 1–2 away loss to five-time defending champions CFR Cluj.[2]
Rapid București
On 12 February 2024, fellow Liga I club Rapid București signed Pop on a four-and-a-half-year contract for a rumoured transfer fee of €700,000. He was immediately loaned back to UTA Arad for the remainder of the season.[3]
Pop made his Rapid București debut on 5 August 2024, coming on for Claudiu Petrila in the 76th minute of a 2–2 home league draw with Sepsi OSK. On the 23rd that month, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 away win over Politehnica Iași. One month later, he scored his first career double in a fixture with newly-promoted Unirea Slobozia, also a 2–1 away victory.
Career statistics
- As of match played 15 March 2026[4]
| Club | Season | League | Cupa României | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| UTA Arad | 2021–22 | Liga I | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Liga I | 25 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 31 | 4 | ||
| 2023–24 | Liga I | 36 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 5 | |||
| Total | 64 | 8 | 8 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 74 | 9 | |||
| Rapid București | 2024–25 | Liga I | 23 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 25 | 4 | ||
| 2025–26 | Liga I | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | |||
| Total | 30 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 5 | ||||
| Petrolul Ploiești (loan) | 2025–26 | Liga I | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 103 | 13 | 12 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 117 | 15 | |||
- Appearances in Liga I promotion/relegation play-offs