Ianis Hagi

Early career

Ianis Hagi was born on 22 October 1998 in Istanbul, Turkey, where his father Gheorghe was playing for Galatasaray. He joined his namesake Gheorghe Hagi football academy in 2009, and made his Liga I debut for Viitorul Constanța at the age of 16 on 5 December 2014. He came on as a last-minute substitute for Silviu Pană in a 2–1 home defeat to FC Botoșani. On 29 May 2015, Hagi scored his first goal as a senior, contributing to a 4–4 draw against the same opponent while also acting as a starter for the first time. In June, he gained team captaincy. Hagi scored his second league goal against ACS Poli Timișoara, in a 4–0 home win on 21 August 2015, a few days after having missed a penalty against Concordia Chiajna. In October, he was named by The Guardian as one of the 50 best young footballers in the world born in 1998.

Fiorentina

On 10 July 2016, Hagi joined Fiorentina for a €2 million transfer fee. He made his league debut on 23 October, replacing Josip Iličić late into a 5–3 away triumph over Cagliari. In April 2017, Hagi was nominated for the European Golden Boy award.

Return to Viitorul Constanța

Hagi returned to Viitorul Constanța on 18 January 2018 for a reported €2 million, with Fiorentina being entitled to 30% of a future transfer fee. In July, he was again nominated for the European Golden Boy award. During his second spell at his father's team, he scored 20 goals in 53 matches across all competitions. He won his first career…

Hagi represented Romania at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels. On 11 September 2018, he scored a direct corner kick in a 2–0 win over the Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21 team. Two months later, he made his senior debut for Romania in a 3–0 UEFA Nations League win over Lithuania, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Claudiu Keșerü. Hagi was part of the team that qualified for the second time in their history to the European Under-21 Championship, starting in all three group matches of the 2019 final tournament in Italy. He netted one each against Croatia and England to help his side progress to the semi-finals as group winners, where they lost 4–2 to defending champions Germany.

On 25 March 2021, Hagi scored his first senior international goal after coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 home win over North Macedonia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. In the Euro 2024 qualifiers, he aided with seven appearances and two goals, including the winner in a 2–1 success over Israel on 18 November 2023. Romania went on to finish Group I in first place after a 1–0 defeat of Switzerland three days later, in which Hagi came off the bench in the 64th minute.

Once considered to be a promising young talent, Hagi's playing style has drawn comparisons with that of his father's due to his dribbling skills, passing, two-footedness and playmaking ability. His preferred role is that of an attacking midfielder, and he is regarded as a quick, agile and versatile player. Hagi is also capable of playing in several advanced roles, and has been used as a winger, a second striker or even a centre-forward on occasion. Due to his vision, technique and eye for goal, he is both capable of creating chances for his teammates and scoring goals himself.

Hagi has an elder sister, Kira, who is an actress. Their father Gheorghe is of Aromanian descent, and met their mother Marilena in 1993. Gheorghe was playing for Brescia at the time, while the latter was a second-year college student. Ianis is the nephew of another former international footballer Gheorghe Popescu, whose wife Luminiţa is Marilena's sister. His cousin Nicolas Popescu is also a footballer – both of the younger men were born in Istanbul while their fathers were playing for Galatasaray. Hagi has been sponsored by Nike apparel since his early career. In 2019, he provided the Romanian dubbing for Victor Frankenstein in the Disney animation movie Frankenweenie. On 14 July 2024, a week after being knocked out of the European Championship with the national team, Hagi and his girlfriend Elena Tănase officially had their ceremonial wedding which was broadcast on national television in Romania; however, their civil wedding had taken place in Paris on 25 December 2023.