Andrei Rațiu

Andrei Rațiu

Personal information
Full name	Andrei Florin Rațiu
Date of birth	(1998-06-20) 20 June 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Aiud, Romania
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Rayo Vallecano
Number	2
Youth career
	Águaviva
0000–2010	Andorra
2010–2016	Villarreal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	Villarreal C	65	(4)
2017–2021	Villarreal B	58	(1)
2019–2021	Villarreal	0	(0)
2020–2021	→ ADO Den Haag (loan)	10	(0)
2021–2023	Huesca	72	(3)
2023–	Rayo Vallecano	24	(1)
International career^‡
2019–2020	Romania U21	3	(0)
2021	Romania Olympic	6	(0)
2021–	Romania	27	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2024

Andrei Florin Rațiu (Romanian pronunciation: [anˈdrej floˈrin ˈrat͡sju]; born 20 June 1998) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for La Liga club Rayo Vallecano and the Romania national team.

Raised in Spain from age six, Rațiu progressed through the Villarreal youth academy, but did not make his debut for the first team. After a loan spell at Dutch club ADO Den Haag between 2020 and 2021, he moved to Huesca. Two years later, he transferred to Rayo Vallecano, with which he registered his La Liga debut.

Rațiu made his senior international debut for Romania in September 2021, in a 2–0 win over Iceland. He represented the country in the UEFA Euro 2024.

Club career

Early career and Villarreal

Born in Aiud, Alba County, Rațiu moved to Aragon, Spain at the age of six^[1] and joined Villarreal's youth setup from Andorra CF.^[2] He made his senior debut with the C-team on 20 August 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 Tercera División away draw against Alzira.^[3] Rațiu scored his first senior goal on 14 September 2016, netting the opener in a 2–1 away defeat of Elche Ilicitano.^[4]

After being regularly used with the C-side, Rațiu made his debut for the reserves on 17 December 2017, replacing Darío Poveda late into a 3–2 home win against Peña Deportiva in the Segunda División B championship.^[5] He was definitely promoted to the B-team in August 2018,^[6] being regularly used afterwards. He made his first team debut the following 18 April, starting in a 2–0 derby loss at Valencia for the season's UEFA Europa League.^[7]

On 4 August 2020, Rațiu was loaned to Dutch Eredivisie side ADO Den Haag for the campaign.^[8] He returned to his parent club the following 29 January, after 12 appearances.^[9]

Huesca

On 4 August 2021, Rațiu signed a three-year contract with Huesca, recently relegated to Segunda División.^[10] He scored his first professional goal on 21 May 2022, netting his team's second in a 3–2 home win over Real Sociedad B.

Rayo Vallecano

On 26 August 2023, Rațiu agreed to a five-year deal with La Liga side Rayo Vallecano.^[11] He made his debut on 1 November, in a 6–0 Copa del Rey thrashing of Atlético Lugones in which he also scored.^[12] Four days later, he played the full 90 minutes in a goalless league away draw at Real Madrid.^[13]

International career

On 2 September 2021, Rațiu debuted for the Romanian national team in a 2–0 victory over Iceland in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, starting the match and coming off after 68 minutes.^[14] On 26 September 2022, he scored his first goal in a 4–1 defeat of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which had already won its UEFA Nations League group at that point.^[15]

In 2023, Rațiu made five appearances in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, which included a start in the final 1–0 victory over Switzerland. Romania emerged as Group I winners, maintaining an undefeated record throughout.^[16] On 7 June 2024, he was chosen by Edward Iordănescu in the squad for the final tournament.^[17] Rațiu started in all four matches, as the nation won its group but was eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16.^[18] His blue-dyed hair during the tournament led to him being nicknamed "Sonic", inspired by Japanese character Sonic the Hedgehog.^[19][20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 December 2024^[21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Villarreal B	2017–18	Segunda División B	1	0	—		—		1	0
	2018–19	Segunda División B	30	1	—		—		30	1
	2019–20	Segunda División B	21	0	—		—		21	0
	2020–21	Segunda División B	8	0	—		—		8	0
	Total		60	1	—		—		60	1
Villarreal	2018–19	La Liga	0	0	0	0	1[a]	0	1	0
ADO Den Haag (loan)	2020–21	Eredivisie	10	0	2	0	—		12	0
Huesca	2021–22	Segunda División	34	1	0	0	—		34	1
	2022–23	Segunda División	38	2	1	0	—		39	2
	Total		72	3	1	0	—		73	3
Rayo Vallecano	2023–24	La Liga	12	0	4	1	—		16	1
	2024–25	La Liga	12	1	0	0	—		12	1
	Total		24	1	4	1	—		28	2
Career total			166	5	7	1	1	0	174	6

1. Appearance in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 18 November 2024^[22]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Romania	2021	5	0
	2022	5	1
	2023	5	0
	2024	12	0
Total		27	1

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rațiu goal.^[22]

List of international goals scored by Andrei Rațiu

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 September 2022	Stadionul Rapid-Giulești, Bucharest, Romania	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–1	4–1	2022–23 UEFA Nations League B

References

1. "Conoce a Andrei con Cantera Grogueta" [Know Andrei with Cantera Grogueta] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
2. "Cine este Andrei Raţiu, românul titular în premieră în sferturile Europa League? Este dorit de Real Madrid" [Who is Andrei Raţiu, Romanian starting in the quarterfinals of the Europa League? He is a Real Madrid target] (in Romanian). Telekom Sport. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
3. "Jornada 1. – UD Alzira, 2; Villarreal CF C, 2" [Matchday 1. – UD Alzira, 2; Villarreal CF C, 2.] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
4. "El Villarreal C continúa intratable y supera al filial ilicitano" [Villarreal C remain unstoppable and overcome the ilicitano reserves] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
5. "El Villarreal B doblega a la Peña Deportiva por 3–2" [Villarreal B bend down Peña Deportiva by 3–2] (in Spanish). El Confidencial. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
6. "El Villarreal B mantiene su apuesta por jugadores de la casa" [Villarreal B keep their bet on home-grown players] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
7. "Valencia quality too much for Villarreal in downpour at Mestalla". Marca. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
8. "Andrei moves on loan to ADO Den Haag". Villarreal CF. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
9. "Andrei returns home". Villarreal CF. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
10. "Andrei Ratiu, potencia y talento joven para el lateral azulgrana" [Andrei Ratiu, power and young talent for the blue-and-red full-back] (in Spanish). SD Huesca. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
11. "Ratiu, nuevo jugador del Rayo Vallecano" [Ratiu, new player of Rayo Vallecano] (in Spanish). Rayo Vallecano. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
12. "Atlético Lugones vs Rayo Vallecano - Copa del Rey" (in Spanish). La Liga. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
13. "Reacția lui Rațiu, după ce l-a ridiculizat pe Bellingham și l-a ținut "în lesă" pe Vinicius. Cu cine a făcut schimb de tricouri" [Rațiu's reaction, after he ridiculed Bellingham and kept Vinicius "on a leash". Who did he exchange shirts with?] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
14. Popescu, Cornel (3 September 2021). ""Andrei Rațiu a debutat în tricoul echipei naționale a României. "E foarte mare dorința de a ajunge la Mondial!"" [Andrei Rațiu debuted in the jersey of Romania national football team: "The desire to reach the World Cup is strong!"]. Prosport (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
15. Badila, Leonard (26 September 2022). "Victorie pentru România! Tricolorii au bătut Bosnia-Herțegovina, dar au retrogradat în Liga C". Capital Romania (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
16. "Victorie cu Elveția și mergem la EURO 2024 de pe primul loc în grupă!" [Victory against Switzerland and we go to EURO 2024 from first place in the group!] (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
17. "Lotul României pentru EURO 2024" [Romania's squad for EURO 2024] (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
18. "Romania 0–3 Netherlands: Donyell Malen and Cody Gakpo score as Dutch reach quarters". BBC. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
19. Nistor, George. ""Dar de ce nu-l cumpărăm noi pe Sonic?" Viralul Andrei Rațiu, cerut ca transfer la un club legendar din Serie A". GSP. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
20. Ioniță, Alex (20 June 2024). "Andrei Rațiu, sărbătorit în cantonamentul echipei naționale! Cadoul primit de "Sonic", care a împlinit 26 de ani". Antena Sport (in Romanian).
21. Andrei Rațiu at Soccerway
22. "Andrei Rațiu". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

External links

• Andrei Rațiu at BDFutbol
• Andrei Rațiu at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)