Meet Ianis Hagi, born on the 22nd of October, 1998, somewhere in the delightful ambiance of Turkey. Now aged 26, the 5ft 11in (1.82m) midfielder, who just so happens to weigh 11st 4lb (72kg), is making the grass grow green over at Rangers, where he primarily plays as a central attacking midfielder. By some twist of fate, Hagi has also had the honour to display his moderate skills with the Romanian national team, bearing the burden of the number 30 jersey.
Hagi's journey began in July 2014 with Viitorul Constanța in the Liga II in Romania. Over several seasons, he made a handful of first-team appearances, scoring a moderate amount of goals. In 2016, like a lonely pet abandoned at a park, Hagi was transferred from Viitorul Constanța to Fiorentina in the Serie A in Italy for approximately £1.7m. You can almost hear the laughter echo from the transfer office.
Our dear Hagi then moved back to Viitorul Constanța in January 2018 for a hefty sum of £1.8m. A case of home really being where the heart is, one might think. His debut followed the same pattern as his previous stint, with some appearances and a handful of goals. Not exactly what dreams are made of.
Not one to let grass grow under his feet, Hagi then switched loyalties to Genk in the Pro League in Belgium, costing them the heartrending sum of £7.2m. After chalking up a few more caps and adding a few more moderate numbers to his goal tally, our dear Hagi was then shipped out on loan to Rangers in the Premiership in Scotland in January 2020.
As fate would have it, Rangers decided to tie the knot permanently with Hagi in July 2020, parting with £3.2m. A sunnier season awaited him in Scotland where he seems to have found some consistency in making first-team appearances and adding a decent number to his modest goal tally.
Just to keep life interesting, Rangers shipped Hagi out on loan to Alaves in the LaLiga in Spain in August 2023, where he enjoyed a decent run of appearances. He sauntered back to Rangers in June 2024 upon completion of his loan, applying himself diligently to the art of playing for Rangers upon his return.
Hagi's career seems to have been a mixed bag of appearances, representing not only Rangers in their League Cup, Scottish Cup and Europa League outings but also playing a part in Romania's Euro 2024, Euro Qualifiers and World Cup Qualifiers. Will the future bring brighter glory for Hagi? Only time will tell.
