 Munteanu withRomania U21 in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Louis Munteanu | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-06-16)16 June 2002 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Vaslui, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | CFR Cluj | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2015 | LPS Vaslui | ||
| 2015–2019 | Gheorghe Hagi Academy | ||
| 2020–2022 | Fiorentina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Viitorul Constanța | 21 | (3) |
| 2020–2024 | Fiorentina | 0 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | →Farul Constanța (loan) | 29 | (10) |
| 2023–2024 | →Farul Constanța (loan) | 34 | (12) |
| 2024– | CFR Cluj | 27 | (20) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Romania U16 | 4 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Romania U17 | 14 | (4) |
| 2019–2020 | Romania U18 | 4 | (3) |
| 2019–2021 | Romania U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2022 | Romania U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021– | Romania U21 | 17 | (5) |
| 2023– | Romania | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2025 | |||
Louis Munteanu (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈluismunˈte̯anu]; born 16 June 2002) is a Romanian professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forLiga I clubCFR Cluj.
Munteanu made his senior debut forViitorul Constanța in 2019, aged 17, and the next year was transferred to Italian sideFiorentina. In 2022, he returned to his boyhood club, which had merged withFarul Constanța, and contributed to winning the national title during his first loan spell back. Two years later, Munteanu signed with CFR Cluj, also in the Liga I.
Internationally, Munteanu representedRomania under-21 in the2023 UEFA European Championship. In October that year, he registered his full debut in a goalless draw withBelarus in theEuro 2024 qualifiers.
Munteanu made his professional debut forViitorul Constanța on 27 October 2019, in a 2–3 awayLiga I loss toDinamo București. Five days later, he scored his first goal in a 3–0 home success overChindia Târgoviște.[1] Munteanu amassed three goals from 19 appearances duringhis first season as a senior, all in the league championship.
On 26 September 2020, Munteanu was transferred to Italian clubFiorentina for a rumoured fee of €2 million.[2] During his initial two years with thePrimavera side, he appeared in 40 matches and scored 13 goals.[1]
On 15 August 2022, Munteanu rejoined the Romanian league by signing forFarul Constanța on loan until the end of theseason.[3] Before moving to Farul, he was close to being loaned toRapid București, but the deal fell through because Fiorentina declined to include a permanent transfer clause.[4] On the 28th that month, he scored his first two goals in a 3–1 away victory over defending championsCFR Cluj.[5]
On 6 May 2023, Munteanu netted his second double of the campaign in a 7–2 home thrashing of Rapid București.[6] Fifteen days later, he scored the winner in a 3–2 home success over league contendersFCSB, securing the national title for Farul with one match remaining.[7] On 28 May, Munteanu ended his spell with ten goals in 29 matches by scoring twice in a 2–1 away victory at CFR Cluj, also missing apenalty.[8]
On 18 August 2023, Munteanu was sent on anotheryear-long loan to Farul.[9] He made his debut inEuropean competitions six days later, coming on forAdrian Mazilu in a 2–1 home win overHJK in theUEFA Europa Conference Leagueplay-off round.[10] On 27 August, he scored both goals in a 2–0 home win againstUniversitatea Craiova.[11]
Munteanu surpassed his previous season's statistics by netting 12 goals in 34 Liga I appearances, and was voted Farul Player of the Year by the fans.[12]
On 31 July 2024, amid interest from fellow league clubs FCSB and Rapid București, CFR Cluj officially announced the transfer of Munteanu on a four-year contract.[13][14] CFR Cluj owner Neluțu Varga admitted that the transfer fee was "around €2 million", contrasting some reports that indicated it might be as high as €2.8 million,[15] and also stated that Fiorentina retained 50% participation rights in aco-ownership deal.[16]
Munteanu registered his debut on 4 August 2024, starting in a 2–3 home Liga I loss torivalsUniversitatea Cluj.[17] One week later, he scored his first two goals in a 3–0 win overnewly-promotedUnirea Slobozia.[18] On 15 September, Munteanu netted another double in a 2–2 home derby draw with FCSB.[19]
On 15 June 2023, Munteanu was selected in theRomania national under-21 team squad for the2023 UEFA European Championship.[20] He started in all threegroup games, as his side failed to score any goals and finished in last place. On 12 October that year, Munteanu made his full debut forRomania by coming on as a 77th-minute substitute forDenis Drăguș in a goalless draw withBelarus in theEuro 2024 qualifiers.[21]
On 11 October 2024, Munteanu scored ahat-trick in a 6–2 away thrashing ofMontenegro counting for the2025 European Under-21 Championship qualifiers. Four days later, he provided two assists as Romania defeatedSwitzerland 3–1 at home and qualified for its fourth consecutiveEuropean Under-21 Championship by winning its group.[22]
Munteanu is primarily deployed as acentre-forward, but can also play as awinger due to his refined technical ability and link-up play. He maintains precision and executes moves even at high speed, making him versatile across attacking positions.[23][24]
On 16 October 2020, Munteanu tested positive forCOVID-19.[25]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Viitorul Constanța | 2019–20 | Liga I | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 3 | |
| 2020–21 | Liga I | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 3 | |||
| Fiorentina | 2020–21 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Farul Constanța (loan) | 2022–23 | Liga I | 29 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 10 | ||
| 2023–24 | Liga I | 34 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 36 | 12 | ||
| Total | 63 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 65 | 22 | |||
| CFR Cluj | 2024–25 | Liga I | 27 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 30 | 20 | |
| Career total | 111 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 116 | 45 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | |||
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Farul Constanța[26]
Fiorentina agreed to sell Louis Munteanu, 22 years old, for a substantial transfer fee of €2.8 million.