Alexandru Ioniță (footballer, born 1994)


Alexandru Cornel Ioniță ; born 14 December 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for Astra Giurgiu, on loan from CFR Cluj as an attacking midfielder or a winger.

Club career

Rapid București

Born in Bucharest, Ioniță joined the academy of Rapid București at the age of 6. On 21 May 2011, aged just 16 years and 5 months, he made his senior debut for the club in a Liga I match against FC Brașov.

Astra Giurgiu

Ioniță moved to Astra Giurgiu during the winter transfer window of 2014, with fellow league sides Dinamo București and Petrolul Ploiești also interested in signing him. He scored his first goal for his new team on 15 October 2015, in a 3–0 away victory over Viitorul Constanța for the Cupa Ligii.
On 2 May 2016, Ioniță netted twice in a 4–2 home success against Dinamo București as Astra celebrated its first league title. Following the transfer of Constantin Budescu to FCSB in June 2017, Ioniță took over the number 10 shirt. On 13 July that year, he recorded his first UEFA Europa League goal in a 3–1 home defeat of Zira FK for the second qualifying round.
He was named the Liga I Player of the Month for November 2017 after scoring in three consecutive league matches, against CS Universitatea Craiova, Concordia Chiajna, and FC Steaua București respectively. Amid rumours of a transfer to CFR Cluj in early January 2018, Ioniță refused to renew his contract with Astra and was expelled from the first-team for an undetermined period.

CFR Cluj

On 20 January 2018, Ioniță joined CFR Cluj's training camp in Spain after Astra Giurgiu agreed to sell him for a rumoured fee of €1 million. After three days the move was made official.
Ioniță made his competitive debut on 5 February in a 2–0 league win against Concordia Chiajna at home. Later that month, he recorded his first goal for "the White and Burgundies" in a 2–0 away success over Juventus București, after netting in the rebound from his penalty that had been saved by Virgil Drăghia.
In July 2019, following a disappointing 2018–19 campaign in which he only scored two goals in 27 appearances in all competitions, Ioniță agreed to a one-year loan deal with CS Universitatea Craiova with a purchase option.

International career

In September 2017, Ioniță was selected in Romania's senior team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Denmark. He earned his first cap in the former match, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for double goal scorer Constantin Budescu in the 3–1 win in Ploiești.

Personal life

Ioniță's father played football in the lower divisions and, like the son, is a supporter of Rapid București.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

;Astra Giurgiu
;CFR Cluj