Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Tuesday, 09 June 2026, 19:42 / Updated on Tuesday, 09 June 2026 19:42
Alex Chipciu, the captain of the Cluj University, spoke about the financial differences between the teams in the Super League and revealed a discussion he had with Mihai Rotaru, the financier of the University of Craiova.
The veteran of the “red caps” emphasized that the performance achieved by U Cluj in the recently ended season is all the more important in the context of the much larger budgets that the rivals in the championship benefit from.
Alex Chipciu: “I had a discussion with Mr. Rotaru”
The Cluj University football player said that he found out from the patron of the University of Craiova the size of the investments made at the club from Bănie.
“I had a talk with Mr. Rotaru. He brought some investors and I think they have 20 million. So much the better for our performance this year.”
Chipciu's statement comes in the context in which Mihai Rotaru has repeatedly recognized the important investments made at the University of Craiova.
In an interview given to GSP.ro, Rotaru explained that his main businesses are in agriculture, energy and real estate, the activity being concentrated especially in Dolj and Olt counties. The boss of “juvetils” revealed the fact that the total investment in the club exceeded 20 million euros, reaching approximately 23 million. Of these, 13 million euros represent loans granted to the club in the last 14 years.
Chipciu compares U Cluj with Brighton
The Transylvanian captain also spoke about the team's goals for the next season, giving the example of Brighton, one of the revelations of English football in recent years.
“We hope to be in the first teams again, because I recently saw a video with someone from the Premier League and they were talking about the Brighton team, who have outdone themselves and are outdoing teams with bigger budgets. And U Cluj cannot afford to transfer 100 players and we have to make the transfers carefully and perfectly.
The world should realize that U Cluj is a non-profit organization, nobody takes the money home. I also saw the reactions of Mr. Becali and Rotaru, that they would like these teams to have better teams, and I think it's ok”, said Alex Chipciu on “Fotbal Club”, on Digi Sport.
If we manage the transfers and have a top coach, like we have, and everyone is dedicated, you can surpass yourself and fight for the title. But we also have to take into account that FCSB was absent from the play-offs and it was a conjuncture. A team like us must take advantage, as well as Rapid and Dinamo. Last season we played in Europe and they didn't, they also have supporters and it's not easy.
– Alexandru Chipciu, captain of Cluj University
