Rareș Ilie
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rareș Andrei Ilie | ||
| Date of birth | 19 April 2003[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania[1] | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Empoli (on loan from Nice) | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Cautis Steaua Sudului | ||
| 2014–2019 | Juniorul București | ||
| 2019–2020 | Rapid București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2022 | Rapid București | 58 | (9) |
| 2022– | Nice | 6 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Lausanne-Sport (loan) | 29 | (3) |
| 2025 | → Catanzaro (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2025– | → Empoli (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021 | Romania U18 | 2 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | Romania U19 | 12 | (2) |
| 2021–2025 | Romania U21 | 15 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 June 2025 | |||
Rareș Andrei Ilie (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈrareʃ anˈdrej iˈli.e]; born 19 April 2003) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie B club Empoli, on loan from Ligue 1 club Nice.
Ilie started his senior career with Rapid București at the age of 17, amassing over 58 matches in Romania's first two leagues before signing with French club Nice in 2022.
At the international level, he has represented the under-18, under-19 and under-21 teams.
Club career
Rapid București
Ilie made his senior debut for Rapid București on 5 September 2020, aged 17, in a 2–1 victory over Pandurii Târgu Jiu in the Liga II.[2] On 19 November the same year, he scored his first senior goal in a 1–0 league win against Universitatea Cluj. During the 2020–21 season, he amassed three goals from 22 appearances, as Rapid Bucureşti finished as Liga II runners-up and secured direct promotion.
On 18 July 2021, Ilie made his Liga I debut by starting in a 1–0 win over Chindia Târgoviște.[3] His first goal in the competition came on 19 November, in a 2–2 away draw against the same opponent. Ilie featured in 38 matches and scored six goals in all competitions during the 2021–22 campaign, and established himself as a regular first-team player.
Nice
On 14 July 2022, Rapid București shareholder Victor Angelescu announced an agreement for the move of Ilie to Ligue 1 club Nice.[4] The French side officially announced his signing three days later,[5] and the press generally reported the transfer fee as €5 million plus potential bonuses.[6][7]
Ilie made his debut on 7 August 2022, coming on as a substitute in the 64th minute for Alexis Beka Beka in a 1–1 league draw at Toulouse,[8] and one week later, he started in a 1–1 home draw against Strasbourg.[9] On 18 August, he made his European debut in a 0–1 away loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round.
Loan moves
On 1 February 2023, Ilie moved to Israeli Premier League team Maccabi Tel Aviv on loan for the remainder of the season.[10] He started in eight league matches and did not score.
On 20 June 2023, Ilie signed for newly-promoted Swiss Super League club Lausanne-Sport on a season-long loan deal.[11] On 29 July, he scored the opening goal in a 1–1 home draw against Grasshoppers.
On 24 January 2025, Ilie signed for Italian Serie B club Catanzaro on a six-month loan, with an option to make the move permanent.[12]
On 9 July 2025, Ilie returned to Serie B and joined Empoli on a loan deal, with an option to buy.[13]
Career statistics
- As of match played 8 March 2026[14]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rapid București | 2020–21 | Liga II | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 3 | ||
| 2021–22 | Liga I | 36 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 6 | |||
| Total | 58 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 60 | 9 | ||||
| Nice | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan) | 2022–23 | Israeli Premier League | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Lausanne-Sport (loan) | 2023–24 | Swiss Super League | 29 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 4 | ||
| Catanzaro (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie B | 15 | 0 | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Empoli (loan) | 2025–26 | Serie B | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 141 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 155 | 15 | ||
- ^ Includes Cupa României, Israel State Cup, Swiss Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearances in Serie B promotion play-offs
References
- ^ a b c "Profile of Rares Ilie - OGC Nice". OGC Nice. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Rareș Ilie, pariul de 17 ani al lui Adi Iencsi. Debut cu Pandurii" (in Romanian). Rapid București.
- ^ "Game report". soccerway (in Romanian). 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Rareș Ilie pleacă de la Rapid în Ligue 1! Angelescu anunță transferul + ce salariu ar avea în Franța" [Rareș Ilie leaves Rapid for Ligue 1! Angelescu announces the transfer + his salary in France]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ "Welcome Rares". OGC Nice. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Rareş Ilie a semnat cu Nice" [Rareș Ilie signed with Nice] (in Romanian). Orange Sport. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "EXCLUSIV Nice l-a "suflat" pe Rareș Ilie din mâinile altei echipe din Franța » Dezvăluiri de la negocieri" [EXCLUSIVE Nice "stole" Rareș Ilie from the hands of another French team » Revealings from the negotiations]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Rareș Ilie, debut în Ligue 1 » Cum s-a descurcat fostul rapidist în Toulouse - Nice" [Rareș Ilie, debut in the Ligue 1 » How the former Rapid player did in Toulouse – Nice]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 7 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ "Rareș Ilie, peste media echipei! Nota primită de român după primul meci ca titular la Nice în Ligue 1" [Rareș Ilie, above average in his team! The mark received by the Romanian after his first match as a starter for Nice in the Ligue 1] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Rares Ilie joins Maccabi on loan". Maccabi Tel Aviv. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ "RARES ILIE REJOINT LE FC LAUSANNE-SPORT!" [RARES ILIE JOINS FC LAUSANNE-SPORT!]. www.lausanne-sport-ch (in French). 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "IL CENTROCAMPISTA ILIE DAL NIZZA ALL'US CATANZARO". www.uscatanzaro1929.com/ (in Italian). 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
- ^ "Rares Ilie è un nuovo calciatore azzurro" [Rares Ilie is a new Empoli footballer] (in Italian). Empoli FC. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ Rareș Ilie at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
External links
- Profile at the OGC Nice website
- Rareș Ilie – Romanian league stats at LPF (archived 2021-07-15) (in Romanian)
- Rareș Ilie – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French (archived)
- Rareș Ilie at Rapid București at the Wayback Machine (archived 2021-10-25) (in Romanian)
- Rareș Ilie – UEFA competition record (archive)