Cristian Săpunaru

Early career and Porto

Săpunaru was born in Bucharest and is a product of Național București, joining its youth system at the age of only six. He signed for Rapid București in July 2006, and two years later was sold for €2.5 million to Porto as a replacement for Chelsea-bound José Bosingwa. Săpunaru agreed to a five-year contract, with the Primeira Liga club owning 50% of the player's economic rights, while Romanian sources indicated the price was actually €6 million plus two players.

During his debut campaign, Săpunaru was the first-choice right-back as the northerners achieved a double, and scored his first goal in a 1–2 away loss against Nacional for the Taça da Liga. In early February 2010, he was suspended in Portugal–as his teammate Hulk–following incidents during a 0–1 league defeat at Benfica, so he returned to his country for a five-month loan with former side Rapid; he did not manage to be played regularly at Porto during that time but, following his return for the 2010–11 season, became a very important first-team unit as they won three major titles, appearing in 40 official games in the process. On 17 February 2014, Săpunaru was condemned to pay a €90,000 fine for his participation in the assault of two stewards at the Estádio da Luz on 20 December 2009.

Spain

On 31 August 2012, Săpunaru signed a one-year contract with La Liga club Real Zaragoza. He made his official debut on 16 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–2 loss at Real…

Săpunaru made his debut for the Romania national team on 31 May 2008 against Montenegro, and was selected to the nation's squad at UEFA Euro 2008, although he did not play in the final stages. From June 2011 to November 2015, he did not appear in any games for his country due to a conflict with manager Victor Pițurcă. On 17 May 2016, Săpunaru was picked by manager Anghel Iordănescu for his Euro 2016 squad. He started at right-back in the group stage opener, a 1–2 loss against the hosts France. In September 2019, after amassing 36 caps over the course of eleven years, 35-year-old Săpunaru announced his retirement from the national team.

Club

International

Național București

Cupa României runner-up: 2005–06 Rapid București

Cupa României: 2006–07 Supercupa României: 2007 Porto

Primeira Liga: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12 Taça de Portugal: 2008–09, 2010–11 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 UEFA Europa League: 2010–11 UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 2011 Astra Giurgiu

Cupa României runner-up: 2016–17 Individual

Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year third place: 2011 Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Player of the Month: August 2021