Valentin Țicu / Photo source: Flaviu Buboi/NurPhoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
For Valentin Ţicu (25 years old), the child of Petrol, the player who went through all the stages in the club, from juniors to the team captain stage, the moment of a career change has arrived, the Prahov club announced on Monday, according to News.ro.
Recently returned to training, after a terrible injury and a series of terrible bad luck that contributed to an unavailability that lasted for a year and a half, Vali Ţicu reached an agreement with FC Petrolul Ploiesti for the conclusion, from this winter, of the commitment that was due in the summer of 2026.
“Taking into account what happened from 2024 onwards, starting with my injury and everything that followed, I think that, at the moment, this was the best decision. It is important, now, to go somewhere where I can constantly evolve and, thus, I can reach as quickly as possible the potential before the injury. Petrol is the club where I really grew up, because I came here as a child and left as a man, I knew many satisfactions and, of course, I will remain with this team with my soul!”, Valentin Ţicu testified.
“It is a painful parting, but I hope and believe it will be beneficial for him. I wish him to go to a team where he will have the opportunity to play as soon as possible and as much as possible, so that he can quickly become the player we all know. We lived many beautiful moments together, he played here from League 3 to League 1, he was the captain with whom Petrol returned to the first echelon! A special player, a man of great quality, and Petrol's door will always be open to him! Thank you, Vali, and we expect you to come back even stronger!”, stated Claudiu Tudor, the president of our club.
Vali Ţicu made his debut in the Petrol first team jersey on March 30, 2018, in a match played in Moreni, with Flacăra, in the 3rd League. And the last appearance was on July 29, 2024, on “Ilie Oană”, in the derby with Rapid, which ended, for him, in the 85th minute, with that terrible knee injury, which took him out of the performance football circuit for a year and a half.
During this entire period, Vali Ţicu made 174 appearances for Petrolul (73 in the Super League, 86 in League 2, 5 in League 3, 8 in the Romanian Cup), scoring 8 goals. His developments also attracted the attention of the national team selectors, Ţicu reaching the entourage of the first representative team, for which he ticked off a summons, for the match with Switzerland in the EC 2024 preliminaries. However, he played constantly for the U21 representative team (10 appearances), with which he also participated in the final tournament of the 2023 European Championship.
