| Ionuț Balaur | |
| Height: | 1.88 m |
| Birth Date: | 1989 6, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Vaslui, Romania |
| Currentclub: | Unirea Alba Iulia |
| Position: | Centre back |
| Youthyears1: | 2003–2006 |
| Youthclubs1: | LPS Vaslui |
| Years1: | 2007–2014 |
| Clubs1: | Vaslui |
| Caps1: | 26 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2007–2008 |
| Clubs2: | → Focșani (loan) |
| Caps2: | 16 |
| Goals2: | 2 |
| Years3: | 2010 |
| Clubs3: | → Otopeni (loan) |
| Caps3: | 14 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2014–2016 |
| Caps4: | 29 |
| Goals4: | 4 |
| Years5: | 2016–2021 |
| Clubs5: | Voluntari |
| Caps5: | 142 |
| Goals5: | 6 |
| Years6: | 2018 |
| Clubs6: | → Dunărea Călărași (loan) |
| Caps6: | 2 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2021–2023 |
| Clubs7: | Mioveni |
| Caps7: | 55 |
| Goals7: | 3 |
| Years8: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs8: | Argeș Pitești |
| Caps8: | 8 |
| Goals8: | 1 |
| Years9: | 2024– |
| Caps9: | 0 |
| Goals9: | 0 |
| Pcupdate: | 11 May 2024 |
Ionuț Balaur (born 6 June 1989) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a centre back for Liga III club Unirea Alba Iulia.
Balaur was the only player of FC Vaslui that was born in Vaslui. He made a single substitute appearance for the club in the 2006–07 season. In the following seasons he was loaned to different teams like CSM Focșani or CS Otopeni. At the start of the 11/12 season he returned to FC Vaslui. Despite him being a striker, he was used as a central defender after Papp and Cânu's long-term injuries and FC Vaslui's transfers ban. He made some fantastic games in the Europa League and in Liga I as a central defender and was seen as a future important player for the team. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury in January 2012 that kept him out for 6 months. Following the team dissolving due to financial problems Balaur decided to leave the club.
In 2014, Balaur signed a two-years contract with the Romanian vice-champions ASA Târgu Mureș being a very constant player for the team reaching Romanian Cup and top standings in the league with his club.
In 2016, Balaur signed a contract with the Bucharest-based club FC Voluntari and becoming an important player for the club becoming the captain of the squad several times during the 2017/18 season.
In summer 2023, Argeș Pitești announced the signing of Balaur.[1]
Statistics accurate as of match played 11 May 2024
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 2006–07 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2011–12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 34 | 2 | |||
| Focșani (loan) | 2007–08 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| Otopeni (loan) | 2010–11 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| ASA Târgu Mureș | 2014–15 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[2] | 0 | 24 | 4 | ||
| Total | 29 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[3] | 0 | 33 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[4] | 1 | 34 | 2 | |||
| 2018–19 | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[5] | 0 | 33 | 0 | |||
| Total | 142 | 6 | 6 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | 153 | 7 | |||
| Dunărea Călărași (loan) | 2018–19 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Mioveni | 2021–22 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 56 | 3 | ||||
| Argeș Pitești | 2023–24 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 292 | 19 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 320 | 20 | ||
FC Vaslui
ASA Târgu Mureș
2015Voluntari