Article by Adrian Duţă – Published Monday, January 19, 2026 22:29 / Updated Monday, January 19, 2026 23:21
Nicolae Stanciu is no longer the player from Genoa. The Romanian international is free of contract again, half a year after signing with “Grifon”.
The match that put an end to Stanciu's adventure at Genoa was the one against Milan, score 1-1. In the last phase, the attacking midfielder missed a penalty that would have brought victory to his team, shooting well over the goal.
Since then he has not played at Genoa, who decided to terminate his contract. Moreover, in the last 16 games of Serie A, this was the only appearance of Stanciu on the field.
Nicolae played only 7 matches at Genoa, 4 in Serie A and 3 in the Cup. He scored only one goal, even on his debut, in the Italian Cup.
Nicolae Stanciu parted ways with Genoa
“Genoa terminated the contract with Stanciu”, captioned journalist Gianluca di Marzio. He continued:
“Separation between the rossoblu club and the Romanian footballer. Genoa and Nicolae Stanciu terminated the contract. As we reported, they were going towards this solution and this happened. The Romanian footballer thus ends his adventure in the rossoblu shirt after only six months.
For him, in the jersey of Genoa, only 7 matches in the championship and the Italian Cup and a goal scored against Vicenza. He didn't get game time at the start of the season with Patrick Vieira, nor after that with the arrival of Daniele De Rossi.
Genoa transferred him for free in the summer after his contract with Saudi Pro League club Damac FC expired. His contract with Rossoblu would have expired on June 30, 2027, but now Stanciu will be free of contract again and ready to start a new adventure”.
PHOTO GALLERY. The penalty missed by Stanciu with Milan ended his adventure in Genoa
What options does Nicolae Stanciu have, after breaking up with Genoa
Stanciu could go to China again, where he also played in 2022 and 2023, winning the title with Wuhan Three Towns.
Now, he is wanted by Dalian Yingbo and Tianjin Jinmen Tiger in the Chinese league. For Stanciu, there would also be the Rapid option, where he is wanted by management, but salary claims could prevent him from returning to Romania.
“Every day I am asked about Stanciu, but there is no chance”, said Victor Angelescu, the president of Rapid, the other day.
84 matcheshas Nicolae Stanciu in the Romanian national team, for whom he scored 15 times
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Throughout his career, Stanciu played for Unirea Alba Iulia, FC Vaslui, FCSB, Anderlecht, Sparta Praha, Al AHli, Slavia Praga, Wuhan, Damac, Genoa.
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The attacking midfielder has 6 championship titles in his career: 2 with FCSB, 2 with Slavia, 1 with Anderlecht and 1 with Wuhan Three Towns
Nicolae Stanciu // PHOTO: Imago Images
