Mihai Popescu (footballer)

For the Romanian handballer, see Mihai Popescu (handballer).

Mihai Popescu

Popescu with FCSB in 2025
Personal information
Full name	Mihai Popescu
Date of birth	(1993-05-07) 7 May 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth	Câmpulung, Romania
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	FCSB
Number	17
Youth career
0000–2011	Sporting Pitești
2011–2012	Dinamo București
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2012	Dinamo II București
2013–2020	Dinamo București	63	(5)
2013–2015	→ Dunărea Călărași (loan)	54	(2)
2015	→ Berceni (loan)	11	(0)
2015–2016	→ Dunărea Călărași (loan)	30	(0)
2017	→ Voluntari (loan)	18	(0)
2019	→ St Mirren (loan)	17	(0)
2020–2022	Heart of Midlothian	18	(1)
2021–2022	→ Hamilton Academical (loan)	31	(1)
2022–2024	Farul Constanța	73	(2)
2024–	FCSB	32	(0)
International career‡
2025–	Romania	4	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 31 August 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 June 2025

Mihai Popescu (born 7 May 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga I club FCSB and the Romania national team.

Popescu started his senior career at Dunărea Călărași in 2013, while on loan from Dinamo București. He made his professional debut for the latter side in 2016, and had multiple loan spells before moving to Heart of Midlothian in 2020. After returning from Scotland, Popescu signed with Farul Constanța and won his first national title in the 2022–23 season. In 2024, his performances earned him a transfer to FCSB, the cross-town rival of his former club Dinamo București.

Internationally, Popescu registered his debut for Romania in March 2025, in a 0–1 home loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Club career

Dinamo București and various loans

Popescu joined Liga I club Dinamo București from Sporting Pitești in 2011. Following loans to Dunărea Călărași, Berceni, and again Dunărea Călărași, he recorded his debut for Dinamo on 11 August 2016, starting in a 2–1 away win over Voluntari in the Cupa Ligii. On 12 September, Popescu made his Liga I debut in a 1–2 away loss to ASA Târgu Mureș.

In the summer of 2017, Popescu was sent on loan to fellow league club Voluntari, where he spent half of season. Upon his return to Dinamo, he scored his first Liga I goal on 12 March 2018, in a 3–0 home defeat of Gaz Metan Mediaș. On 29 July that year, he netted in a 3–3 away derby draw with FCSB. Popescu moved abroad for the first time by being loaned to Scottish Premiership side St Mirren in January 2019. ^[1] After St Mirren manager Oran Kearney left the team, he returned to Bucharest in July that year. ^{[2] [3]}

Heart of Midlothian and loan to Hamilton Academical

In September 2020, Popescu signed a two-year contract with Scottish Championship club Heart of Midlothian. ^{[4] [5]} After the team achieved promotion to the Scottish Premiership as league winners, on 31 August 2021 he was sent to Championship side Hamilton Academical on loan until the end of the campaign. ^[6]

Farul Constanța

In July 2022, Popescu left Hearts as a free agent and returned to his native Romania, signing a two-year contract with Liga I side Farul Constanța. ^[7] In his debut season, he made 30 league appearances and scored one goal to aid the club in winning the national title.

Popescu made his debut in European competitions on 12 July 2023, starting in a 1–0 home victory over Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round (1–3 loss on aggregate). ^[8] On 24 August that year, he scored his first European goal after coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 home win over HJK in the Europa Conference League play-off round (2–3 on aggregate). ^[9]

FCSB

On 4 September 2024, Popescu signed a one-year contract with Romanian reigning champions FCSB, ^[10] the city rivals of his former club Dinamo București. Club owner Gigi Becali stated that the transfer fee amounted to €250,000. ^[11]

Popescu soon became a regular starter for the Roș-albaștrii, appearing in 12 Europa League matches—ten of them as a starter—across the group stage and knockout rounds. Domestically, he featured in 25 Liga I games, helping the club secure a second consecutive title.

International career

Popescu made his debut for the Romania national team on 21 March 2025, aged 31, starting in a 0–1 home loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Three days later, he scored in a 5–1 away thrashing of San Marino counting for the same competition. ^[12]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 31 August 2025. ^[13]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dinamo II București	2012–13	Liga II	?	?	—		—		—		—		?	?
Dinamo București	2016–17	Liga I	11	0	1	0	2	0	—		—		14	0
	2017–18	Liga I	12	2	0	0	—		—		—		12	2
	2018–19	Liga I	16	2	1	0	—		—		—		17	2
	2019–20	Liga I	24	1	3	0	—		—		—		27	1
	Total		63	5	5	0	2	0	—		—		70	5
Dunărea Călărași (loan)	2012–13	Liga III	?	?	?	?	—		—		—		?	?
	2013–14	Liga III	?	?	?	?	—		—		—		?	?
	2014–15	Liga III	?	?	?	?	—		—		—		?	?
	Total		54	2	?	?	—		—		—		54	2
Berceni (loan)	2014–15	Liga II	11	0	—		—		—		—		11	0
Dunărea Călărași (loan)	2015–16	Liga II	30	0	—		—		—		2 [c]	0	32	0
Voluntari (loan)	2017–18	Liga I	18	0	1	0	—		—		1 [d]	0	20	0
St Mirren (loan)	2018–19	Scottish Premiership	17	0	2	0	—		—		2 [e]	0	21	0
Heart of Midlothian	2020–21	Scottish Championship	18	1	1	0	5	0	—		—		24	1
	2021–22	Scottish Premiership	0	0	—		0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		18	1	1	0	5	0	—		—		24	1
Hamilton Academical (loan)	2021–22	Scottish Championship	31	1	1	0	—		—		0	0	32	1
Farul Constanța	2022–23	Liga I	30	1	3	0	—		—		—		33	1
	2023–24	Liga I	35	1	1	0	—		8 [f]	1	1 [d]	0	45	2
	2024–25	Liga I	8	0	—		—		—		—		8	0
	Total		73	2	4	0	—		8	1	1	0	86	3
FCSB	2024–25	Liga I	25	0	2	0	—		12 [g]	0	—		39	0
	2025–26	Liga I	7	0	0	0	—		7 [h]	0	1 [d]	0	15	0
	Total		32	0	2	0	—		19	0	1	0	54	0
Career total			347	11	16	0	7	0	27	1	7	0	404	12

1. Includes Cupa României, Scottish Cup
2. Includes Cupa Ligii, Scottish League Cup
3. Appearances in Liga I promotion/relegation play-offs
4. Appearance in Supercupa României
5. Appearances in Scottish Premiership promotion/relegation play-offs
6. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
7. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
8. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 10 June 2025. ^[14]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Romania
	2025	4	1
Total		4	1

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Popescu goal. ^[14]

List of international goals scored by Mihai Popescu

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 March 2025	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	2	San Marino	2–0	5–1	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Dinamo București ^[13]

• Cupa Ligii: 2016–17

Voluntari ^[13]

• Supercupa României: 2017

Heart of Midlothian ^[13]

• Scottish Championship: 2020–21

Farul Constanța ^[13]

• Liga I: 2022–23
• Supercupa României runner-up: 2023

FCSB ^[13]

• Liga I: 2024–25
• Supercupa României: 2025

References

1. Prima reacţie a lui Mihai Popescu după ce a plecat de la Dinamo: "E o surpriză şi pentru mine!". telekomsport.ro (in Romanian)
2. "Mihai Popescu: St Mirren future in limbo for Dinamo Bucharest defender". BBC Sport. 24 June 2019.
3. "St Mirren: Mihai Popescu returns to Dinamo Bucharest". BBC Sport. 2 July 2019.
4. Bolat, Leila (16 September 2020). "FC Dinamo a anunţat că l-a transferat pe Mihai Popescu la Heart of Midlothian". news.ro. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
5. "Mihai Popescu: Hearts sign former St Mirren defender from Dinamo Bucharest". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
6. "Mihai Popescu joins on loan". 31 August 2021.
7. McGilvray, Andy (22 June 2022). "Ex-Hearts star signs for Romanian side as Hamilton Accies lose out on target". msn.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
8. "Farul Constanța - Sheriff 1–0". UEFA.com. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
9. "Farul Constanța - HJK 2–1". UEFA.com. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
10. "Former Hearts player makes transfer to Europa League side as he's set for glamour showdowns after move". Edinburgh News. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
11. "Becali a anunțat un nou transfer la FCSB: „L-am luat azi, îi dau salariu 15.000 de euro"" [Becali announced a new transfer at FCSB: "I brought him today, I offer him a salary of 15,000 euros"] (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
12. "Mihai Popescu a fost criticat de Mircea Lucescu, a "răspuns" cu primul gol la națională și acum a rupt tăcerea: "Greșim!"" [Mihai Popescu was criticised by Mircea Lucescu, "responded" with his first international goal and now breaks the silence: "We're mistaken!"] (in Romanian). ProSport. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
13. Mihai Popescu at Soccerway . Retrieved 6 March 2025.
14. "Mihai Popescu". European Football. Retrieved 25 March 2025.

External links

• Mihai Popescu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
• Mihai Popescu at WorldFootball.net