Florin Andone (; born 11 April 1993) is a Romanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for

Segunda Federación Segunda Federación, previously called Segunda RFEF, also officially known as Segunda B, is the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system containing 90 teams divided into five groups. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Fede ...

club

Atlético Baleares Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

. Raised in Spain from the age of 12, Andone began competing in the country's lower divisions before making his professional debut for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

team

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

in 2014. Two years later, he joined

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

, and after another two years earned a move to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. Following loans at

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

and

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, Andone signed with

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

in 2022. Andone earned his first full

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for Romania in a goalless draw with

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in June 2015, and was selected in the squad for the

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the ...

, Andone moved to

Vinaròs Vinaròs () () is a city located in eastern Spain and the capital of the Baix Maestrat in the province of Castellón. It is in the border between the Valencian Community and Catalonia. Vinaròs is a fishing harbour and tourist destination. His ...

in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

in 2005, aged 12, to join his mother after his father died in a car accident. He immediately joined

Vinaròs CF Vinaròs Club de Fútbol is a List of football clubs in Spain, football team based in Vinaròs, in Castellón (province), Castellón province, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1965, it plays in . Its stadium is ''El Ce ...

's youth setup, and in 2008 moved to Castellón. Andone made his senior debut on 16 January 2011, coming on as a late substitute for

Pau Franch Pau Franch Franch (born 25 July 1988 in Betxí, Castellón, Valencian Community) is a Spanish professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of fo ...

in a 1–1 away draw against

Orihuela Orihuela (; ''Corpus Toponímic Valencià''. Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. 2009, València.) is a city and municipality located at the foot of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. The c ...

in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

championship. He appeared in three further matches for the club, which eventually suffered relegation. On 2 June 2011, Andone joined

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

, returning to youth football. He also appeared with the C-team during the campaign, with the side in

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. On 15 August 2013, Andone was loaned to the third level's

, in a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long deal. He finished the campaign with 12 goals in 34 matches, with the Balearic outfit being one point shy of the play-offs.

Córdoba

On 3 July 2014, Andone signed a three-year deal with

, being initially assigned to the reserves in the same division. On 29 November, he was promoted to the main squad by manager

Miroslav Đukić Miroslav Đukić ( sr-cyr, Мирослав Ђукић, ; born 19 February 1966) is a Serbian football manager and former player who played as a sweeper. He spent fourteen years of his professional career in Spain, notably at the service of De ...

. Andone played his first match as a professional on 3 December 2014, replacing

Xisco Xisco is the nickname of people named ''Francisco''. Notable people with the nickname include: *Xisco (footballer, born 1980), Spanish footballer *Xisco (footballer, born 1986), Spanish footballer *Xisco Nadal Francisco Sebastián Nadal Martor ...

in the 57th minute of a 1–0 away loss against

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, for the season's

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

. He scored his first goal on the second leg, netting his side's only in a 1–1 home draw. In his

debut on 5 January 2015 Andone was handed his first start, and scored to confirm a 2–0 home win against the same opponent. On 16 January, in a 1–1 home draw against

Eibar Eibar (, ) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Euskadi. It is the capital of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Debabarrena. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eustat, 2018). Its chief industry is ...

, he scored the first after only ten seconds, being the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns' fastest goal in the top level, and the fourth overall. Following Córdoba's relegation, he was named the

Segunda División Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Segunda División player for each month of the season. Winners Multiple winners The following table lists the number of awards won by players who have won at leas ...

for October 2015 with four goals, which put his team in the top position. In January 2016, as

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and Steaua București showed interest in Andone, he renewed his contract with the ''Blanquiverdes'' until 2018, receiving a wage per year 10 times higher (and 20 if his club earn promotion), and with a release clause of

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20 million, the highest such figure in the club's history. On 3 April, he struck his first

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 4–4 draw at

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

. He ended his season with 21 goals after scoring the game's only at

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

to achieve a

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

place on 29 May, missing the final round in order to join up with Romania; he was ultimately beaten to the division's

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish Association football, football, the Pichichi Trophy () is awarded by the sports newspaper ''Marca (newspaper), Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Pichichi (footballer), Rafael ...

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

's Sergio León.

Deportivo La Coruña

On 22 July 2016, top-flight club

transferred Andone for

4.7 million plus 30% from a potential future transfer fee; it was the team's biggest purchase in the last nine years. He was given the number 10 jersey and made his debut as a substitute on 19 August in a 2–1 home win against

, scoring his first goal on 5 November to open a 1–1 draw at

. He was named

La Liga Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best La Liga player each month of the season. Winners Multiple winners The following table lists the number of awards won by players who have won at least two Player ...

for December after contributing with three goals and two assists, including a brace in a win over

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

. Andone scored his eighth goal of the season in a 1–1 league draw with

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, on 2 March 2017. On 26 April, he netted one for himself and also set up another goal in a 6–2 home loss to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. In August 2017, Deportivo La Coruña turned down a €13 million offer for the player from

side

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, with club president Tino Fernández stating that Andone would only leave if his €30 million

release clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

is activated.

was also interested in transferring him, and made a €20 million bid which was also supposedly rejected. He scored six goals and assisted three more in the 2017–18 season, which ended in relegation for the Galician team.

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 25 May 2018, Andone signed a five-year deal with

for an undisclosed fee, and joined the

side when the international transfer window opened on 8 June. The rumoured transfer fee was €6 million, representing the release clause in his contract in case of Deportivo La Coruña's relegation. Andone scored for Brighton in his fourth appearance—and also his first start—away against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

in a 2–1 comeback victory, and netted again in the next match at the

Falmer Stadium Falmer Stadium, currently known as the American Express Stadium for sponsorship reasons and more commonly referred to as the Amex, is a association football, football stadium in Falmer, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. With a capacity o ...

against rivals

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

, collecting the ball just inside the Palace half, dribbling into the area and scoring from an acute angle in a 3–1 victory. On 5 January 2019, Andone scored on his

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

debut in a 3–1 away win against

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, and a month later he scored in a fourth round replay win against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. Before his goal, he elbowed opponent

Sam Field Sam Field may refer to: * Sam Field (baseball) * Sam Field (footballer) Samuel Edward Field (born 8 May 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Queens Park Rangers. Club career West Bromwich Alb ...

's face without the officials seeing; he was later fined and banned for three matches. On 24 August 2019, Andone was sent off in a Premier League match against

, following a rash knee-high challenge on Yan Valery. Brighton manager

Graham Potter Graham Stephen Potter (born 20 May 1975) is an English professional association football, football Manager (association football), manager who is the head coach of Premier League club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. In a 13-year playing ...

described the tackle as "one we can't defend", and

Paul Merson Paul Charles Merson (born 20 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports. Originally a forward, Merson found success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker late ...

, speaking on ''

Soccer Saturday ''Gillette Labs Soccer Saturday'' is a British football-focused programme broadcast on Sky Sports. It delivers live score updates and commentary on football matches across various leagues, particularly the Premier League and English Football Le ...

'', described it as worth "five red cards" and "one of the worst tackles you will ever see".

Loan to Galatasaray

After three league appearances, one goal and a red card for Brighton in August 2019, Andone agreed to a

-long loan with Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side Galatasaray on 2 September. Andone made his debut for the Turkish side on 20 September, starting in the eventual 1–1 away draw against

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country. History Founded in 1986 as Malatya Belediyespor. Its primary colo ...

. Andone made his first start for the Süper Lig side on 5 October in a 0–0 away draw against Gençlerbirliği. He netted his first goals for ''Gala'' scoring a brace, one of which a penalty, in a 3–2 home victory over

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

. After suffering a MCL injury in November 2019 which ruled him out until the new year, he suffered a season-ending injury in a 2–0 away loss at Caykur Rizespor on 14 June: another MCL injury and ACL tears after colliding with opposition goalkeeper Tarık Çetin. He then returned to Brighton. He left scoring 2 goals in 12 appearances in all competitions.

Return to Brighton

Andone returned to Brighton and was to recover from his injury where in January 2021, Potter said that "Florin is making good progress." On 15 May, he returned to the matchday squad for the first time for the 2020–21 season, remaining an unused substitute in the 1–1 home draw against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. In September 2022, Andone had the final 12 months of his contract, due to expire in 2024, mutually terminated. Andone returned to Spain and its top tier on 23 August 2021, after agreeing to a one-year loan deal with

Las Palmas

On 1 September 2022, Andone signed a one-season deal with Segunda División side

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

on the final day of the summer transfer window. He helped in their promotion to the top tier with two goals, but left in July 2023 as his contract expired.

Eldense

On 30 July 2023, Andone signed a two-year contract with

CD Eldense Club Deportivo Eldense is a Spanish football team based in Elda, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1921, the club plays in the Segunda División, and holds home matches at '' Estadio Municipal Nuevo Pepico Amat'', which has a ...

, newly-promoted to the second division.

Atlético Baleares

On 1 November 2024, Andone signed a contract with

club

, until June 2025.

International career

Andone stated that his dream is to play for the Romania national team, despite living in Spain for most of his life. He was called up by manager

Anghel Iordănescu Anghel Iordănescu (; born 4 May 1950), is a Romanian former footballer and former manager, who played as a forward. In 2007, Iordănescu retired from football, and the following February, after his predecessor resigned, he became a member ...

for the

UEFA Euro 2016 qualification The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...

match against the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

in March 2015, but was an unused substitute in the 1–0 win. Andone made his full international debut in another qualifier on 13 June 2015, playing the last 18 minutes in a 0–0 away draw against

. On 17 November 2015, Andone scored his first international goal, exploiting an error by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

goalkeeper

Salvatore Sirigu Salvatore Sirigu (, ; born 12 January 1987) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Palermo. Sirigu began his career with Venezia and then Palermo. In 2011, he moved to French side Paris Saint-Germain. Twice v ...

for a last-minute equaliser in a 2–2 draw in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. He was selected for

in France, where he started against the hosts in the opening game after recovering from a hand injury, and made two more substitute appearances in a group-stage exit. Andone scored his first goal in front of the home crowd, and only second overall, on 5 September 2019 in a 1–2 defeat to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in a Euro 2020 qualifier.

Style of play

Naturally right-footed, Andone plays as a striker and has been praised for his

work ethic Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. Desire or determination to work serves as the foundation for values centered on the i ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Andone goal.''

Honours

Galatasaray *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Las Palmas *

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

runner-up:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual *

: October 2015 * Segunda División Best Forward (first part of the season): 2015–16 *

: December 2016 *

Player of the Season: 2016–17

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andone, Florin 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Botoșani Footballers from Botoșani County Romanian emigrants to Spain Romanian men's footballers Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CD Castellón footballers Villarreal CF B players CD Atlético Baleares footballers Córdoba CF B players Córdoba CF players Deportivo de La Coruña players Cádiz CF players UD Las Palmas players CD Eldense footballers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Romania men's youth international footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Romanian expatriate sportspeople in England Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey UEFA Euro 2016 players Premier League players 21st-century Romanian sportsmen