Cristian Ionuț Săpunaru (born 5 April 1984) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played mainly as a centre-back. He also played as a right-back or a defensive midfielder.
Săpunaru began his senior career with Național București in 2002, before going on to make a name for himself at Rapid București four years later. In 2008 he signed with Porto in Portugal, where he won ten major honours over the course of four years, including the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. After two additional seasons in Spain featuring for Zaragoza and Elche, Săpunaru spent his late years with stints between his native country and Turkey.
A full international for Romania between 2008 and 2019, he amassed 36 caps and represented the nation in two European Championships.
Club career Early career and Porto Săpunaru was born in Bucharest and is a product of Național București, joining its youth system at the age of only six. He signed for Rapid București in July 2006, and two years later was sold for €2.5 million to Porto as a replacement for Chelsea-bound José Bosingwa. Săpunaru agreed to a five-year contract,Rapid's Săpunaru plumps for Porto; UEFA, 14 July 2008 with the Primeira Liga club owning 50% of the player's economic rights, while Romanian sources indicated the price was actually €6 million plus two players.Ce transfer!!! Sapunaru la FC Porto pentru 6 milioane + 2 jucatori (We have a transfer!!! Sapunaru to FC Porto for 6 million + 2 players) ; Sport Magazin, 9 July 2008 (in Romanian)
During his debut campaign, Săpunaru was the first-choice right-back as the northerners achieved a double, and scored his first goal in a 1–2 away loss against Nacional for the Taça da Liga. In early February 2010, he was suspended in Portugal–as his teammate Hulk–following incidents during a 0–1 league defeat at Benfica, so he returned to his country for a five-month loan with former side Rapid;Sapunaru to return on loan to Rapid Bucharest ; The Romanian Times, 1 February 2010 he did not manage to be played regularly at Porto during that time but, following his return for the 2010–11 season, became a very important first-team unit as they won three major titles, appearing in 40 official games in the process.
On 17 February 2014, Săpunaru was condemned to pay a €90,000 fine for his participation in the assault of two stewards at the Estádio da Luz on 20 December 2009.
Spain
On 31 August 2012, Săpunaru signed a one-year contract with La Liga club Real Zaragoza. He made his official debut on 16 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–2 loss at Real Sociedad.
In his first season in Aragon, Săpunaru started but also suffered team relegation. He also entered his name in the competition's history books, after breaking the record for the most bookings in a single campaign (19 yellow cards and one red).
After initially hesitating because of the requests of his partner, Săpunaru signed a one-year deal at fellow league team Elche on 25 July 2013. He totalled only nine appearances in his only campaign and was also sent off twice, while his sole goal opened a 1–2 loss at Valencian Community neighbours Levante on 13 December.
Elche could not support Săpunaru's €1 million wage demands, and released him on 21 August 2014. In October 2015, he took the club to court for the wages remaining in his contract.
Later career After four months back at Rapid, Săpunaru signed a season-long deal at Pandurii Târgu Jiu on 6 September 2015, including a clause that he could leave instantly if a foreign club wanted him. The following 21 July, he put pen to paper to a two-year contract with fellow league side Astra Giurgiu.
On 1 July 2017, it was announced that Săpunaru signed a two-year deal with Turkish Süper Lig team Kayserispor. At its expiration, he joined Denizlispor in the same competition, before returning to his previous employer in January 2020 for the rest of the season. In August, he signed a new one-year deal.
Săpunaru signed for Rapid for the fourth time on 4 July 2021, joining on a two-year contract at the age of 37.
Retirement On 19 May 2025, Săpunaru played his last professional match against CFR Cluj at the 2024–25 SuperLiga Play-off round.
International career Săpunaru made his debut for the Romania national team on 31 May 2008 against Montenegro, and was selected to the nation's squad at UEFA Euro 2008, although he did not play in the final stages. From June 2011 to November 2015, he did not appear in any games for his country due to a conflict with manager Victor Pițurcă.
On 17 May 2016, Săpunaru was picked by manager Anghel Iordănescu for his Euro 2016 squad. He started at right-back in the group stage opener, a 1–2 loss against the hosts France. In September 2019, after amassing 36 caps over the course of eleven years, 35-year-old Săpunaru announced his retirement from the national team.
Career statistics
Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionApps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals AppsGoalsAppsGoals Național București2002–03Divizia A4000——402003–041020——302004–056020——802005–0623350——283Total34390——433Callatis Mangalia (loan)2003–04Divizia B100———100Rapid București2006–07Liga I1913060102912007–08322202010372Total513508020663Porto2008–09Primeira Liga1702080513212009–1050004000902010–1119070130204102011–12152102030212Total5621002701011033Rapid București (loan)2009–10Liga I103———103Zaragoza2012–13La Liga29260——352Elche2013–14La Liga8110——91Rapid București2014–15Liga I134———134Pandurii Târgu Jiu2015–16Liga I22521—00246Astra Giurgiu2016–17Liga I32851121004910Kayserispor2017–18Süper Lig28050——3302018–1931231——343Total59281——673Denizlispor2019–20Süper Lig14010——150Kayserispor2019–20Süper Lig131———1312020–2125000——250Total38100——381Rapid București2021–22Liga I36110——3712022–2339420——4142023–2437110——3812024–259000——90Total121640——1256Career total4974051347112160745
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsRomania20083020093020101020112020151020161002017302018100201930Total360
Honours Național București Cupa României runner-up: 2005–06
Rapid București Cupa României: 2006–07 Supercupa României: 2007
Porto Primeira Liga: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12 Taça de Portugal: 2008–09, 2010–11 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 UEFA Europa League: 2010–11 UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 2011
Astra Giurgiu Cupa României runner-up: 2016–17
Individual Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year third place: 2011 Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Player of the Month: August 2021
References
External links