George Alexandru Pușcaș (; born 8 April 1996) 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 forward for

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 ...

club

Bodrum Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...

and the Romania national team.

Club career

Inter Milan

Pușcaș made his Internazionale debut on 1 February 2015 by appearing in the last minutes of a 3–1 loss to

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

in the 2014–15 Serie A matchday 21. On 26 February 2015, he made his

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

debut as a substitute replacing Rodrigo Palacio in the 89th minute of a 1–0 home win over

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. On 4 April 2014, Pușcaș played his first match as a starter for Internazionale, a 1–1 home draw against

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, he was replaced by Mateo Kovačić in the 46th minute.

Various loans

On 4 August 2015, Pușcaș, along with his teammate Gaston Camara, were sent on loan at

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

for the 2015–16 season. On 9 August he made his debut for

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

as a substitute replacing Anthony Partipilo in the 60th minute of a 2–1 home defeat against

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

in the second round of

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

. He played his first Serie B match later on 22 September 2015 in the 4–1 away loss to

Crotone Crotone (; ; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( or ; ), it became a great Greek city, home of the renowned mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras amongst other famous citizens, and one ...

, starting and playing for 57 minutes. On 22 February he played his first entire match for Bari, a 1–0 away defeat against Virtus Lanciano. On 1 March, Pușcaș scored twice in a 4–0 home win over Ternana. Pușcaș ended his loan to Bari with 18 appearances, 5 goals and 1 assist. On 15 July, Pușcaș was loaned to Serie B side

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

on a two-year loan deal. On 7 August he made his debut in a match loss 4–2 at penalties after a 0–0 home draw against Salernitana in the second round of Coppa Italia; he was replaced by Fabio Mazzeo in the 68th minute. On 27 August he made his Serie B debut for Benevento as a substitute replacing Fabio Ceravolo in the 71st minute and scoring his first goal eight minutes later in a 2–0 home win over SPAL. On 20 September he played his first entire match for Benevento, a 1–1 home draw against

Pro Vercelli Football Club Pro Vercelli 1892, commonly referred to as Pro Vercelli, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Vercelli, Piedmont. The club is mostly renowned as one of the most successful teams in the early football era of Ital ...

. On 19 November, Pușcaș scored his second goal, again as a substitute, in the 89th minute of a 4–0 home win over

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

. In June 2017 he scored the goal that sealed Benevento's promotion to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

. Pușcaș started his second season with Benevento by playing 80 minutes in a 4–0 home defeat against

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

in the third round of Coppa Italia. On 20 August, Pușcaș made his Serie A debut for Benevento in a 2–1 away defeat against Sampdoria. On 3 December 2017, Pușcaș scored his first Serie A goal in the 2–2 home draw versus

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

that gave Benevento their first ever point in the top flight. In January 2018 he was recalled by Inter, thus leaving Benevento with a total of 34 appearances and 8 goals. On 29 January 2018, Pușcaș was again sent on loan, this time returning at Serie B to

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

. He debuted for his new team five days later in the 2–1 home defeat to Ascoli, netting his team's only goal in the first half. The following week, in his second appearance, Pușcaș scored his first career hat-trick to give his side the 3–1 win at

Cittadella Cittadella () is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around . There are fo ...

Palermo

On 8 August 2018, Pușcaș joined

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and subsequently signed a four-year contract. The deal was reported to be worth €3.25 million plus bonuses. On 3 November 2018, he registered his first league goal for the Sicilian team by scoring in the 90th minute of a 2–1 victory over

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

. At the end of the season, with Palermo relegated to

Serie D The Serie D () is the highest level of semi-professional football in Italy, and the fourth tier of the Italian national league system. It sits beneath the third and lowest fully professional league, Serie C, and feeds in to it through promotion ...

, Internazionale exercised their buy back option for the Romanian forward.

Reading

On 7 August 2019, Pușcaș signed for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on a five-year contract from

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

for €7.5 million plus €2 million in bonuses, becoming Reading's most expensive signing in history. He scored his first goal for Reading in an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie against Wycombe Wanderers on 13 August 2019, and also went on to score one of the penalties as Reading won the shoot-out. On 18 August 2019, he scored two goals on his home league debut for the Royals against Cardiff City. Pușcaș scored his first

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

hat-trick against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

on 30 November 2019 in a 3–1 victory, with the goals all coming in the space of 4 minutes 54 seconds.

Loan to Pisa

On 31 January 2022, Pușcaș returned to Italy, joining

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.

Genoa

On 25 August 2022, Pușcaș moved on a new Italian loan at

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. At the end of the season, Pușcaș was signed on permanent basis by Genoa. The agreed buying fee from Reading was €1.8 million. On 19 January 2024, Pușcaș returned to

on loan.

International career

Because of his Hungarian ancestry, Pușcaș could have represented

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

via

naturalisation Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

. In 2013, the then-Hungarian head coach Sándor Egervári went to watch him play in the Romanian second division, but gave up on him by saying that there are already players of his ability in Hungary. Pușcaș scored seven times for Romania under-21 in the 2019 UEFA European Championship qualifiers, as his side won its group and progressed to the final tournament in Italy. On 18 June 2019, he obtained the penalty from which he scored the opener in a 4–1 victory over

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. He netted again in the next group game against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, surpassing

Ionuț Luțu Ionuț is a Romanian masculine given name. The English equivalent is Johnny. Notable persons with that name include: * Ionuț Andrei (born 1985), Romanian bobsledder * Ionuț Badea (born 1975), Romanian footballer * Ionuț Bălan (born 1978), ...

as the highest scorer of the ''Tricolorii mici''. Pușcaș then gave Romania a half-time lead after scoring a double against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the

semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

, but Romania eventually lost the match 4–2. Pușcaș 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 Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

on 23 May 2018, entering in the 74th minute of a 3–2 win against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. On 17 November that year, he scored his first goal in a 3–0

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

defeat of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Personal life

Born in Marghita, Pușcaș is of partial Hungarian descent and can understand the

Hungarian language Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Out ...

. His

family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

, Pușcaș, originates from the Hungarian Puskás.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Individual *''

Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...

'' Romanian Footballer of the Year runner-up: 2019 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

Silver Boot:

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 ...

Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Puscas, George 1996 births Living people People from Marghita Footballers from Bihor County Romanian men's footballers Romanian sportspeople of Hungarian descent Men's association football forwards CF Liberty Oradea players FC Bihor Oradea (1958) players Inter Milan players SSC Bari players Benevento Calcio players Novara FC players Palermo FC players Reading F.C. players Pisa SC players Genoa CFC players Bodrum F.K. footballers Liga II players Serie A players Serie B players Süper Lig players English Football League players Romania men's youth international footballers Romania men's under-21 international footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in England Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey UEFA Euro 2024 players 21st-century Romanian sportsmen