George Daniel Bîrligea

He left Palermo's academy as a free agent for Teramo, where a three-year spell in Italy's Serie C brought only modest returns — a handful of goals across dozens of appearances.

The move that changed his career came in January 2022, when CFR Cluj paid a reported 100,000 euros for him, a figure the club's president, Cristi Balaj, confirmed to iAM Sport. At Cluj, Bîrligea went from fringe signing to first-choice forward, scoring 22 league goals in 82 appearances and winning the Romanian title in his first season there, 2021/22. Across all competitions for the club he reached 29 goals in 101 matches.

His form at Cluj caught the attention of FCSB, and in September 2024 he completed a transfer to Bucharest worth 2 million euros plus add-ons, including a 15% sell-on clause — terms owner Gigi Becali disclosed to Gazeta Sporturilor and Fanatik. Bîrligea has since become one of FCSB's regular scorers, with 24 league goals in 54 appearances and 33 in all competitions since joining, and he was part of the squad that won the Romanian championship in 2024/25.

His progress has been recognised at international level too. After representing Romania's under-21 side, where he scored four times in 13 matches, he made his senior debut in 2023 and has since earned nine caps, scoring twice for the national team.