List of foreign Liga I players

Source: 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 (2023–2024) 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 that arrived in Romania after the 1989 Romanian Revolution.

Algeria

Liga I Foreign Player of the Year
in 2019.

Angola

Argentina

Liga I Foreign Player of the Year
award.
Liga I Foreign Player of the Year
in 2009.
Emmanuel Culio won six Liga I titles with CFR Cluj.

Armenia

Australia

Joshua Rose
is the Australian player with the most games played in Liga I, 113 and they are all for FC Universitatea Craiova.

Austria

Azerbaijan

  • Petrolul Ploiești
    – 2012–2014

Belarus

Belgium

Benin

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Branko Grahovac won the Liga I title with Oțelul Galați.
International Mateo Sušić won three consecutive Liga I titles with CFR Cluj.
International Daniel Graovac won the Liga I title with CFR Cluj.

Brazil

Liga I Foreign Player of the Year
award.
Juliano Spadacio scored 25 goals in 107 Liga I games for Rapid București and Astra Ploiești.
Júnior Morais played in 281 Liga I matches, winning the title with Astra Giurgiu.
During his period spent at Astra, William de Amorim managed to win the Liga I title.
Rafael Bastos won the Liga I title with CFR Cluj.
Adaílton ended his European career with a two-year spell at FC Vaslui scoring 17 goals in 59 Liga I appearances.
Yuri Matias won the Liga I title with CFR Cluj.

Bulgaria

Radoslav Dimitrov appeared in 206 Liga I games for FC Botoșani, CS Universitatea Craiova and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe.
Zhivko Milanov appeared in 104 Liga I games for FC Vaslui.
Plamen Iliev played 119 Liga I matches for five teams.

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

Patrick Ekeng died while playing for Dinamo București in a Liga I game against Viitorul Constanța.

Canada

Cape Verde

Liga I Foreign Player of the Year
award.

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

Colombia

Dayro Moreno and Juan Toja played together at Steaua București.
  • Corona Brașov
    – 2013–2014
  • FC Vaslui
    – 2013–2014
  • Cristian MejíaPolitehnica Timișoara – 2009–2010
  • Steaua București
    – 2007–2010
  • Steaua București
    – 2007–2008, 2009–2010
  • Steaua București
    – 2008–2010
  • Brayan TorresFC Botoșani – 2021–2022
  • Oțelul Galați
    – 2005–2006
  • Steaua București
    – 2007–2010

Comoros

Congo

Congo DR

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

Costa Rica

Croatia

2022–23 Liga I season, Marko Dugandžić
earned the top-goalscorer of the season award.
Damjan Đoković played for CFR Cluj in two different periods, winning four Liga I titles.

Curaçao

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Djibouti

Egypt

El Salvador

England

Equatorial Guinea

Estonia

Faroe Islands

Finland

France

Nicolas Godemèche with the 2012 Liga I trophy.
Cyril Théréau scored 10 goals for Steaua București in his only season in Liga I.

French Guiana

Gabon

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Nana Boateng won the Liga I title with CFR Cluj.

Greece

Pantelis Kapetanos has won the Liga I title with CFR Cluj and Steaua București having a total of 48 goals scored in the league.

Guadeloupe

  • FC Vaslui
    – 2008–2010

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

The member of Hungary's Mighty Magyars, Gyula Lóránt (left) and one of the Romanian-Hungarians who represented both Romania and Hungary at International level, József Pecsovszky (right) managed to win the Liga I title in their single season spent together at UTA Arad.

Iceland

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Liga I Foreign Player of the Year
in 2022.
Federico Piovaccari scored 10 goals and won the Liga I title in his single season spent at Steaua București.

Ivory Coast

CFR Cluj was Lacina Traoré's first European club.

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

  • Concordia Chiajna
    – 2010–2019

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.

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Mali

Martinique

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Moldova

Academica Clinceni and Petrolul Ploiești
, playing a total 167 games in which he scored 17 goals.

Montenegro

Vladimir Božović spent five years at Rapid București, playing in 131 Liga I games.

Morocco

Mozambique

  • FC Vaslui
    – 2012–2013
  • FC Vaslui
    – 2011–2012

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nigeria

Kehinde Fatai started his senior career playing in Romania for Farul Constanța, later playing for Astra Giurgiu and Argeș Pitești, scoring a total of 45 goals in Liga I.

North Macedonia

Norway

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Liga I Foreign Player of the Year
in 2014.

Portugal

Mário Camora won six Liga I titles with CFR Cluj and he also gained Romanian citizenship, representing Romania’s national team internationally.
Ricardo Cadú won a hat-trick of Liga I titles with CFR Cluj and was the first foreign player that played in over 200 Liga I games.
Tony has won two Liga I titles with CFR Cluj.
Beto
won the Liga I title in his only season spent at CFR Cluj.
Filipe Teixeira played for five different Liga I clubs winning the title with Astra Giurgiu.
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.

Russia

Rwanda

  • Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
    – 2009–2010

Saint Lucia

Saudi Arabia

Scotland

Senegal

Serbia

Milan Perendija won the Liga I title with Oțelul Galați.

Sierra Leone

Slovakia

International goalkeeper Dušan Kuciak had a three-year spell in Liga I at FC Vaslui.

Slovenia

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

South Africa

South Korea

Spain

Eduard
(right) played together in their short spell at Rapid București.
Pablo de Lucas played in over 100 Liga I matches for four different teams.

Sudan

  • Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe – 2016–2020[b ROU]

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

Tajikistan

Togo

Tunisia

Turkey

Uganda

Ukraine

United States

Uruguay

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

Venezuela

Zambia

Zimbabwe

  • FC Vaslui
    – 2006–2014

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. Zaïre
    )
  • ^
    Born in England
  • ^
    Born in France
  • ^
    Born in Germany
  • ^
    Born in Ghana
  • ^
    Born in Greece
  • ^
  • ^
    Born in Italy
  • ^
    Born in Ivory Coast
  • ^
    Born in Kosovo (then part of SFR Yugoslavia)
  • FR Yugoslavia
    )
  • ^
    Born in Luxembourg
  • ^
    Born in Netherlands
  • ^
    Born in Nigeria
  • ^
    Born in Norway
  • ^
    Born in Paraguay
  • ^
    Born in Poland
  • ^
    Born in Portugal
  • Republic of Macedonia
  • ^
    Born in the Réunion
  • ^
    Born in Romania
  • ^
    Born in Romania (then part of Austria-Hungary)
  • ^
    Born in Serbia (then part of SFR Yugoslavia)
  • FR Yugoslavia
    )
  • ^
    Born in Slovakia (then part of First Czechoslovak Republic)
  • ^
    Born in South Africa
  • ^
    Born in Spain
  • ^
    Born in Sweden
  • ^
    Born in Switzerland
  • ^
    Born in Turkey
  • ^
    Born in the Uganda
  • USA
  • ^
    Born in West Germany (now part of Germany)