Nicolae Stanciu

During his spell, other than VfB Stuttgart, he was tracked by various European clubs including Brescia, Celtic, and 1899 Hoffenheim.

Nicolae "Nicușor" Claudiu Stanciu (born 7 May 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Saudi Pro League club Damac and captains the Romania national team.

He was raised mainly by his grandmother, who died in 2007 when he was only 14 years old.

He dedicated his first senior national team goal to her.

Stanciu joined Unirea Alba Iulia's youth system at the age of 11.

Stanciu began his career at Unirea Alba Iulia in 2008, and went on to represent Vaslui and Steaua București in his country, winning six domestic honours and making a name for himself with the latter.

On 25 May 2008, aged just 15 years and 18 days, he made his senior debut for the team by coming off the bench in a 4–1 victory over Corvinul Hunedoara in the Liga II championship.

He spent the vast majority of the 2008–09 season on the sidelines, after suffering a long-term injury.

On 1 May 2010, 17-year-old Stanciu made his Liga I debut under manager Blaž Slišković, playing 20 minutes in a 2–1 home win over Steaua București.

In June, he was on trial with German side VfB Stuttgart, but the economic discrepancies between the two clubs made the transaction collapse.

On 20 March 2011, Stanciu scored his first goal for Unirea in a 3–0 success over Petrolul Ploiești, and he also wore the captain's armband in the closing stages of the match following Adrian Câmpeanu's substitution.

His last goal came on 20 August with the side again in the second division, in the campaign opener against CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea.

On 9 September 2011, Liga I team Vaslui paid Stanciu's €200,000 release clause.

Due to a transfer ban, "the Yellow-Greens" were initially unable to register the player and fellow league teams Dinamo București and Astra Ploiești tried to sign him.

On 4 March 2012, on his competitive debut for Vaslui, Stanciu scored the 2–1 winner at Petrolul Ploiești.

In May 2012, after a series of good performances, he was included by website Sport.ro in a top 10 list of Romanian youths to watch.

On 30 August, he netted from the penalty spot in a 2–2 away draw with Inter Milan in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League, after his side had lost 0–2 in the first leg.

On 27 March 2013, Steaua București announced the signing of Stanciu for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be worth €700,000, with the player agreeing to a five-year deal and a €20 million buyout clause.

He played all twelve matches in the 2013–14 edition of the UEFA Champions League, scoring in the 2–2 away draw against Legia Warsaw in the play-off round which assured qualification to the group stage.

Therefore, Stanciu became the then-most expensive player bought by a Belgian club, ahead of former record holder Steven Defour (€6 million, from Porto to Anderlecht in 2014).

After the departure of Cristian Tănase in the summer of 2015, Stanciu took over his number 10 jersey.

The 2015–16 season was his most prolific individually at Steaua, as he netted 14 times from 39 competitive games.

He moved abroad for the first time in 2016, his eventual €9.8 transfer to Anderlecht making him the then-most expensive signing of the Belgian First Division A, and later the then-biggest sale of the Liga I, after bonuses.

After winning a Belgian national title and a Super Cup, Stanciu joined Sparta Prague one and a half years later for another internal record fee, worth around an initial €4.5 million.

Stanciu made his senior international debut for Romania in March 2016, in a 1–0 win over Lithuania, after having previously played for it at under-19 and under-21 levels.

He represented the nation in the UEFA Euro 2016.

Stanciu was born in the village of Craiva from Cricău, Alba County.

In February 2016, he extended his contract until 2021.

On 3 August 2016, Stanciu scored twice against Sparta Prague in the Champions League third qualifying round's second leg.

He also found the net in the first match, in an eventual 3–1 aggregate triumph.

On 29 August 2016, amid interest from various European sides including Chelsea, Stanciu travelled to Belgium to sign a five-year contract with Anderlecht.

The transfer fee was worth an initial €7.8 million, potentially raising to €9.8 million after bonuses.

Stanciu made his debut in the Belgian First Division A on 11 September 2016, starting in a 3–2 home victory over Charleroi and receiving a standing ovation as he was substituted in the 85th minute by Olivier Deschacht.

His first goals for the club came on 3 November in a Europa League group stage match against Mainz 05, netting twice for a 6–1 win.

On 5 December, he was sent off for the first time in his career after receiving two yellow cards in a 3–1 win over Kortrijk, having previously scored in the first half of the game.

In November 2017, his agent confirmed that the additional €2 million had been paid, which also made him the Liga I's most expensive sale by surpassing the €9.5 million move of Vlad Chiricheș to Tottenham Hotspur in 2013.

Stanciu netted his first goal of 2017 in a 3–1 league victory against Sint-Truiden on 22 January, with his performance earning him the man of the match award.

On 9 March, he scored the only goal of the game against APOEL in the Europa League round of 16's first leg.

He left the Czech Republic at the start of 2019 to sign for Saudi team Al-Ahli, only to return in that summer to the country at former rival club Slavia Prague, where he helped to back-to-back league titles and a Czech Cup in his first two seasons.

Since 2022, he has competed professionally in China and again Saudi Arabia.