Constantin Budescu

Early career / Petrolul Ploiești

Budescu was born in Manasia, a commune near Urziceni, Ialomița County. At the age of 12, with his first team Rapid Sălciile, he once scored "13 goals in one match". In 2007, Budescu made his debut in the Liga II for Petrolul Ploiești while still a junior player. He gradually imposed himself as a regular first-team member, which caught the eye of Rapid București, Politehnica Timișoara and FC Brașov. In 2009, following the transfer of Laurențiu Marinescu to Unirea Urziceni, Budescu took over his number 10 jersey.

Astra Giurgiu

In the summer of 2011, Budescu signed a contract with cross-town rivals Astra Ploiești, later relocated and renamed Astra Giurgiu. On 21 July 2013, he scored his first hat-trick in the Liga I, in a 4–0 away win against Viitorul Constanța. Four days later, during their first ever appearance in the UEFA Europa League, he netted twice in a 2–1 success at Omonia as his team played 30 minutes with one player less and qualified to the third round; due to his exploits, he was dubbed the "Hero of Nicosia". On 21 August 2014, Budescu converted a penalty against French side Lyon in the first leg of the Europa League play-off (2–1 away win, qualification on the away goals rule). On 6 August of the following year, in the same competition but in the third qualifying round, his second leg brace helped defeat West Ham United 2–1 at home and 4–3 on aggregate.

Dalian Yifang

In January 2016, Astra rejected an…

Budescu played an unofficial match for Romania B in a 1–4 friendly defeat against Poland, in February 2013. His debut for the full side was made two years later, as he came on as a 78th-minute substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Hungary for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. On 11 October 2015, Budescu scored a brace against the Faroe Islands, helping the country achieve qualification by finishing second in the group one point behind Northern Ireland.

Budescu is regarded as a skilful player who can create chances and goalscoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates. Hence, he has been deployed in a wide number of positions, such as an attacking midfielder, a winger, a supporting striker or even a main striker. Budescu's shot accuracy allows him to be an exceptional free kick and penalty kick taker, and he is known to sometimes put opposing goalkeepers to test from long range or even from corner kicks. In spite of his undeniable talent, he has often been criticised for his lack of work rate, himself stating that he "only got serious [...] after turning 30 years old".

In October 2014, Budescu married his partner Mădălina in the city of Ploiești, with then Astra Giurgiu teammate Daniel Coman acting as best man. He is nicknamed Sărmăluță (Romanian for "little Sarma"), due to his weakness for traditional food and body weight issues.