Valentin Mihăilă

Universitatea Craiova

Mihăilă made his senior debut for Universitatea Craiova on 24 October 2017, aged 17, in a 2–0 away victory over Sepsi OSK counting for the Cupa României. He did not appear in any other match during that season, but on 9 August 2018 started in a 3–1 away defeat to RB Leipzig in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. His Liga I debut also came against Sepsi OSK, in a 0–1 loss on 29 July 2018. Mihăilă began to play frequently, and on 19 April 2019 recorded his first league goal—and the only of the match—in an away fixture with Astra Giurgiu, one of his former youth clubs. He amassed 32 matches across all competitions in the 2018–19 campaign, and in December 2019 manager Victor Pițurcă confirmed that Craiova rejected a €5 million bid for him from fellow league team FCSB. During his third season in Oltenia, Mihăilă totalled nine goals and came close to claiming the national championship; his side however lost the final fixture 1–3 to eventual champions CFR Cluj on 3 August 2020.

Parma

On 5 October 2020, Italian team Parma announced the signing of Mihăilă on a five-year contract, with the transfer fee being reportedly worth €8.5 million. The sum represented the third-most expensive sale of the Romanian championship at the time, slightly surpassing his former Craiova teammate Alexandru Mitriță on that place. After recovering from athletic pubalgia, Mihăilă made his debut on 3 January 2021 by coming on as a substitute in a 0–3 Serie A…

Youth

Mihăilă attracted significant media attention after contributing to Romania national under-21 team's victory in a UEFA Euro 2021 qualifier against Finland on 14 November 2019, as he scored a hat-trick and provoked an own goal.

Senior

In March 2021, Mihăilă was called up for the first time to the Romania squad by head coach Mirel Rădoi for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against North Macedonia, Germany, and Armenia. On the 25th that month, he replaced injured Florinel Coman in the first half of the former game and netted in the 3–2 win at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. On 19 June 2023, Mihăilă came on in the second half of a Euro 2024 qualifier against Switzerland and scored a late double to earn his team a 2–2 draw. He was then meant to join up with the under-21 team for the 2023 European Championship, but was ruled out after suffering an injury in the latter match. Romania secured their spot in the Euro 2024 by finishing first in their qualifying group, and on 7 June 2024 Mihăilă was selected as part of the final squad. He made three appearances and only started in the 0–2 loss to Belgium on 22 June, as his country won its group before being eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16.

Mihăilă is primarily deployed as a winger on the left flank, his standout quality being his pace. During Euro 2024, he showcased it by recording one of the fastest speeds of the tournament at 35.8 km/h.

Mihăilă was born in Târgoviște and raised in Finta, both in Dâmbovița County. He developed an early interest in football with the support of his father, who worked as a firefighter.