| Louis Munteanu | |
| Full Name: | Louis Munteanu |
| Birth Date: | 16 June 2002 |
| Birth Place: | Vaslui, Romania |
| Height: | 1.84 m |
| Position: | Forward |
| Currentclub: | CFR Cluj |
| Clubnumber: | 98 |
| Youthyears1: | 2007–2015 |
| Youthclubs1: | LPS Vaslui |
| Youthyears2: | 2015–2019 |
| Youthclubs2: | Gheorghe Hagi Academy |
| Youthyears3: | 2020–2022 |
| Youthclubs3: | Fiorentina |
| Years1: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs1: | Viitorul Constanța |
| Caps1: | 21 |
| Goals1: | 3 |
| Years2: | 2020–2024 |
| Clubs2: | Fiorentina |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs3: | → Farul Constanța (loan) |
| Caps3: | 29 |
| Goals3: | 10 |
| Years4: | 2023–2024 |
| Clubs4: | → Farul Constanța (loan) |
| Caps4: | 34 |
| Goals4: | 12 |
| Years5: | 2024– |
| Caps5: | 2 |
| Goals5: | 2 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | Romania U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2017–2019 |
| Nationalteam2: | Romania U17 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 14 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 4 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2019–2020 |
| Nationalteam3: | Romania U18 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 3 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2019–2021 |
| Nationalteam4: | Romania U19 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 0 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2022 |
| Nationalteam5: | Romania U20 |
| Nationalcaps5: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals5: | 0 |
| Nationalyears6: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam6: | Romania U21 |
| Nationalcaps6: | 11 |
| Nationalgoals6: | 1 |
| Nationalyears7: | 2023– |
| Nationalteam7: | Romania |
| Nationalcaps7: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals7: | 0 |
| Pcupdate: | 11 August 2024 |
| Ntupdate: | 26 March 2024 |
Louis Munteanu (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /ˈluis munˈte̯anu/; born 16 June 2002) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga I club CFR Cluj.
Munteanu made his senior debut for Viitorul Constanța in 2019, aged 17, and the next year was transferred to Italian side Fiorentina. In 2022, he returned to his boyhood club, which had merged with Farul 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 represented Romania under-21 in the 2023 UEFA European Championship. In October that year, he registered his full debut in a goalless draw with Belarus in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Munteanu made his professional debut for Viitorul Constanța on 27 October 2019, in a 2–3 away Liga I loss to Dinamo București. Five days later, he scored his first goal in a 3–0 home success over Chindia Târgoviște.[1] Munteanu amassed three goals from 19 appearances during his first season as a senior, all in the league championship.
On 26 September 2020, Munteanu was transferred to Italian club Fiorentina for a rumoured fee of €2 million.[2] During his initial two years with the Primavera side, he appeared in 40 matches and scored 13 goals.[1]
On 15 August 2022, Munteanu rejoined the Romanian league by signing for Farul Constanța on loan until the end of the season.[3] Before moving to Farul, he was close to being loaned to Rapid București; however, 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 champions CFR 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 contenders FCSB, 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 a penalty.[8]
On 18 August 2023, Munteanu was sent on another year-long loan to Farul.[9] He made his debut in European competitions six days later, coming on for Adrian Mazilu in a 2–1 home win over HJK in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round.[10] On 27 August, he scored both goals in a 2–0 home win against Universitatea 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 a co-ownership deal.[16]
Munteanu registered his debut on 4 August 2024, starting in a 2–3 home Liga I loss to rivals Universitatea Cluj.[17] One week later, he scored his first two goals in a 3–0 win over newly-promoted Unirea Slobozia.[18]
On 15 June 2023, Munteanu was selected in the Romania under-21 squad for the 2023 UEFA European Championship.[19] He started in all three group games, as his side failed to score any goals and finished in last place.
On 12 October that year, Munteanu made his full debut for Romania by coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Denis Drăguș in a goalless draw with Belarus in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.[20]
On 16 October 2020, Munteanu tested positive for COVID-19.[21]
| 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 | |||
| Farul Constanța (loan) | 2023–24 | Liga I | 34 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 12 | ||
| CFR Cluj | 2024–25 | Liga I | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 86 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 89 | 27 | ||||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | ||||
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | ||
Farul Constanța