In the unenviable task of attempting to shed some light onto the middling career of the ever-so-mysterious figure of Ianis Hagi, one must presumably start at the beginning. Born on 22 October 1998 in Turkey, the now 26-year-old midfielder primarily plies his trade as a central attacking midfielder for Rangers, a club bravely holding fort in Scotland and disregarding any allusions to the 'Old Firm' that ended pre-2013. With a modest height of 5ft 11in (1.82m) and tipping the scales at 11st 4lb (72kg), he tackles the gruelling task of Scottish football decked out in the number 30 jersey.
As a young chip off the old block, Hagi did his apprenticeship in Romania's Liga II with modest club Viitorul Constanța. Over multiple seasons, he made appearances of varying regularity, and even managed to find the back of the net with some frequency. His efforts attracted the attention of Fiorentina, an Italian Serie A side willing to part with approximately £1.7m for our young hero's services in July 2016. His Italian sojourn was brief and, some might say, comedically ineffective, highlighted by a grand total of two first team appearances.
Jan 2018 marked Hagi's momentous return to Viitorul Constanța, for a slightly-inflated fee of £1.8m, where his performances mimicked a broken record of his previous stint, marked by sporadic appearances and a smattering of goals in league matches. In July 2019, Hagi was packed off to Genk in Belgium's Pro League, a move that set Genk back by a notable £7.2m. Hagi strutted his stuff in Belgium with fourteen first-team appearances and managed to thunder three goals into the net.
January 2020 saw Ianis embark on what some might call an ambitious move to the honorary hosts of this tale, Rangers, initially on loan. His time here was highlighted by fluctuating appearances and an equally variable goal tally. Come July 2020, Rangers extended their doting hands to our hero and shook Genk's hands, waving goodbye to £3.2m in the process. Much like a popular hit stuck on repeat, Hagi's appearances and goals followed the same script as his loan tenure.
Perhaps bored with the monotony of his predictability, Hagi decided on a little holiday in Spain, packing his bags for a loan stint at Alaves in Spain's LaLiga in August 2023. He manufactured 22 first-team appearances in the heat and flavours of Spain, before traipsing back to Rangers in the Premiership as his loan wrapped up in June 2024.
It serves to mention that our globetrotting footballer also serves his national side, representing Romania with pride, or so we think, in tournaments such as the Euro Qualifiers of 2022-2024 and the Nations League of 2024-2025. So there you have it, a peek into the distinctly average career of one Ianis Hagi, courtesy of your humble football writer.
