Mihai Popescu (footballer)

Mihai Popescu

Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-05-07) 7 May 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Câmpulung, Romania
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Defender
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	16	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 March 2025

Mihai Popescu (born 7 May 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga I club FCSB.

Career

Popescu joined Scottish Premiership side St Mirren in January 2019, on loan until the end of the season. ^[1] In June 2019, the possibility that the deal would be extended was thrown into doubt, after St Mirren manager Oran Kearney left the club, ^[2] and Popescu returned to Bucharest in July. ^[3]

In September 2020, Popescu signed a two-year contract with Scottish Championship club Hearts. ^{[4] [5]} On 31 August 2021, he joined Hamilton Academical on loan until the end of the season. ^[6]

Popescu left Hearts at the end of the 2021–22 season and then returned to Romania, signing a two-year contract with Farul Constanţa. ^[7]

On September 4, 2024, FCSB announced that they signed a contract with Popescu for one year. ^[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 March 2025 ^[9]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dinamo II București	2012–13	Liga II	?	?	—		—		—		—		?	?
Dunărea Călărași (loan)	2012–13	Liga III	?	?	?	?	—		—		—		?	?
	2013–14		?	?	?	?	—		—		—		?	?
	2014–15		?	?	?	?	—		—		—		?	?
	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 [a]	0	32	0
Dinamo București	2016–17	Liga I	11	0	1	0	2	0	—		—		14	0
	2017–18		12	2	0	0	—		—		—		12	2
	2018–19		16	2	1	0	—		—		—		17	2
	2019–20		24	1	3	0	—		—		—		27	1
	2020–21		0	0	—		—		—		—		0	0
	Total		63	5	5	0	2	0	—		—		70	5
Voluntari (loan)	2017–18	Liga I	18	0	1	0	—		—		1 [b]	0	20	0
St Mirren (loan)	2018–19	Scottish Premiership	17	0	2	0	—		—		2 [c]	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		35	1	1	0	—		8 [d]	1	1 [b]	0	45	2
	2024–25		8	0	—		—		—		—		8	0
	Total		73	2	4	0	—		8	1	1	0	86	3
FCSB	2024–25	Liga I	16	0	2	0	—		12 [e]	0	—		30	0
Career total			331	11	16	0	7	0	20	1	6	0	380	12

1. Appearances in Liga I promotion/relegation play-offs
2. Appearance in Supercupa României
3. Appearances in Scottish Premiership promotion/relegation play-offs
4. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Conference League
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Dinamo București

• Cupa Ligii: 2016–17 ^[9]

Voluntari

• Supercupa României: 2017 ^[9]

Heart of Midlothian

• Scottish Championship: 2020–21 ^[9]

Farul Constanța

• Liga I: 2022–23 ^[9]
• Supercupa României runner-up: 2023

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. "Former Hearts player makes transfer to Europa League side as he's set for glamour showdowns after move". Edinburgh News. 4 September 2024.
9. Mihai Popescu at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 March 2025.

External links

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