Rareș Pop

Rareș Pop
Pop with UTA Arad in 2023
Personal information
Full name Rareș Mihai Pop
Date of birth (2005-06-14) 14 June 2005 (age 19)
Place of birth Arad, Romania
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Right midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Rapid București
Number 55
Youth career
0000–2022 UTA Arad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 UTA Arad 53 (6)
2024– Rapid București 12 (3)
2024 → UTA Arad (loan) 11 (2)
International career‡
2020 Romania U16 1 (0)
2022 Romania U17 3 (1)
2022 Romania U18 6 (0)
2023–2024 Romania U19 12 (3)
2022– Romania U20 6 (0)
2023– Romania U21 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Rareș Mihai Pop (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈrareʃ miˈhaj ˈpop]; born 14 June 2005) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder for Liga I club Rapid București.

Club career

UTA Arad

Pop made his Liga I debut for UTA Arad on 1 May 2022, coming on for David Miculescu in the 79th minute of a 0–1 away loss to FC U Craiova.[1] He scored his first professional goal on 19 October that year, in a 2–2 draw with FCSB in the Cupa României group stage.

On 11 February 2023, Pop netted his first Liga I goal and also provided an assist in a 3–1 home victory over Botoșani, and on 2 March scored again in a 1–2 away loss to five-time defending champions CFR Cluj.[2]

Rapid București

On 12 February 2024, fellow Liga I club Rapid București signed Pop on a four-and-a-half-year contract for a rumoured transfer fee of €700,000. He was immediately loaned back to UTA Arad for the remainder of the season.[3]

Pop made his Rapid București debut on 5 August 2024, coming on for Claudiu Petrila in the 76th minute of a 2–2 home league draw with Sepsi OSK. On the 23rd that month, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 away win over Politehnica Iași. One month later, he scored his first career double in a fixture with newly-promoted Unirea Slobozia, also a 2–1 away victory.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 December 2024[4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
UTA Arad 2021–22 Liga I 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
2022–23 Liga I 25 3 4 1 — 2[a] 0 31 4
2023–24 Liga I 36 5 4 0 — — 40 5
Total 64 8 8 1 — 2 0 74 9
Rapid București 2024–25 Liga I 12 3 1 1 — — 13 4
Career total 76 11 9 2 — 2 0 87 13
  1. ^ Appearances in Liga I promotion/relegation play-offs

References

  1. ^ "Rareș Pop, al 9-lea produs al Academiei UTA debutant în Liga 1! Man, Di Maria și Mahrez – modelele mijlocașului arădean" [Rareș Pop, the 9th product of the UTA Academy who made his Liga 1 debut! Man, Di María and Mahrez – the role models of the midfielder from Arad] (in Romanian). ProSport. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Rareș Pop, transferul bombă pe care îl vrea Mihai Rotaru la Universitatea Craiova! Fotbalistul celor de la UTA Arad e în fruntea listei de priorități a oltenilor pentru mercato din vară | EXCLUSIV" [Rareș Pop, the bomb transfer that Mihai Rotaru wants at Universitatea Craiova! The UTA Arad footballer is at the top of the list of priorities for the Oltenia people in the summer transfer window | EXCLUSIVE] (in Romanian). ProSport. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Rareș Pop a fost prezentat la Rapid. Detaliile contractului" (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  4. ^ Rareș Pop at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 March 2023.