Rangers FC Player Profile - Ianis Hagi

Ianis Hagi was born on 22nd October 1998 in Istanbul, Türkiye. He played his early football at Pro Luceafărul București, from the age of eight.

The son of Gheorghe Hagi—former Romanian international footballer who played for Real Madrid and Barcelona, amongst others, before joining Turkish club Galatasaray—Ianis joined his father’s football academy, Gheorghe Hagi Academy, in 2009.

Senior Debut and Move Abroad

In July 2014, Hagi moved to Viitorul Constanța—the club would later merge with SPM Constanța in 2021 to become FCV Farul Constanța, of which the majority shareholder is Gheorghe Hagi, original founder of Viitorul in 2009.

There, he made his senior debut, aged just 16, in Liga I against FC Botoșani on 5th December 2014. He scored his first goal, also against FC Botoșani, in May 2015. In his first spell at the club, Hagi scored four goals and provided two assists in 39 total appearances across two seasons.

He was included in The Guardian’s list of ‘50 of the best young talents in world football’, published in October 2015. On the list were football’s most promising young prospects, all born in 1998, including Dayot Upamecano, Martin Ødegaard, Dani Almo, and Federico Valverde.

In July 2016, Italian side Fiorentina signed Hagi for €2 million. He made his Serie A debut on 23rd October but would go on to make only one more senior appearance for I Viola, playing instead for the club’s academy teams for most of his time in Italy.

However, he was still nominated for the European Golden Boy award in April 2017, the year in which Kylian Mbappé would go on to win it.

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Return Home to Familiar Surroundings

Hagi returned to Viitorul Constanța in January 2018. He scored 20 goals and provided 12 assists in 53 total appearances during his second spell at the club.

In July 2018, he was nominated for the European Golden Boy award once more, won that year by Matthijs de Ligt.

At the end of the season, he was on the move again, having won his first senior trophy: the Cupa României in 2018-19.

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Move to Belgium and First Taste of Glasgow

Hagi joined Belgian champions Genk in July 2019, and made his debut in the first league match of the season against Kortrijk, where he came off the bench to score the winning goal on 26th July.

In total, he scored three goals and provided four assists in 19 appearances for the club before being loaned out to Rangers FC in January 2020. He made 13 appearances for the Gers, scoring three goals and providing two assists.

Permanent Move to Rangers Football Club

Rangers exercised their option to buy Hagi on permanent transfer from Genk in May 2020.

“Ianis is recognised throughout Europe as a young, exciting player so to have him join Rangers on a permanent basis is great news,” said manager Steven Gerrard.

“I was able to develop a relationship with Ianis very quickly, he is a pleasure to coach as he is willing to learn and become better every training session. He has already experienced the pressure and expectation of Ibrox, I know he is ready for next season.”

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Speaking after the move, Hagi shared his delight:

“I am excited about re-joining the squad for pre-season and putting on the famous shirt once again. There was interest from other clubs, but my priority was always to return to Glasgow and play for Rangers.

“I really enjoyed my loan spell at Ibrox and look forward to playing in front of our fans very soon, but for now I hope all of the Rangers fans and your families are staying safe and well.”

Hagi would help the Light Blues win their 55th league title in 2020-21, scoring eight goals and providing 15 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions.

In total, he has played in exactly 100 matches for Rangers to date, during which he has scored 16 goals and provided 22 assists.

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However, his time in Glasgow has not been all plain sailing. In January 2022, he suffered an injury to his knee which kept him out for the entire second half of the season. He moved to Spanish side Deportivo Alavés on loan in August 2023, where he contributed two goals and two assists in 26 total appearances.

Upon his return to Rangers, he was involved in a contractual dispute with the club which saw him consigned to the B team for the first few months of the 2024-25 season.

The issue has since been resolved, and Hagi returned to the first team squad for the Scottish Premiership match against St. Johnstone at Ibrox Stadium on 6th October—only for him to receive a straight red card in the 81st minute, having come on for Ross McCausland at the start of the second half.

International Career

Hagi has represented Romania at several age groups, making 25 appearances combined for the U17s, U18s, U19s, and U21s. He made his senior debut for the national team in November 2018 against Lithuania, and has since played in 41 matches, contributing five goals and six assists.