Florin Andone · Biography

Florin Andone was born on 11 April 1993 in Botoșani County, in north-eastern Romania, and learned his football in Spain, where he moved at the age of twelve. A centre-forward, he spent almost his entire career in Spanish football with Castellón, Villarreal's reserve sides, Atlético Baleares, Córdoba, Deportivo de La Coruña, Cádiz, Las Palmas and Eldense. He also had spells in the Premier League with Brighton & Hove Albion and in the Turkish top flight with Galatasaray. With Romania he played at Euro 2016.

From Botoșani to Vinaròs

He started out at CSȘ Botoșani. In 2005 he moved to Spain and settled in Vinaròs, in the province of Castellón, where he carried on playing in the local club's youth teams. From there he joined the CD Castellón academy and made his senior debut in Segunda División B on 16 January 2011, aged seventeen. He made four appearances for the first team that season. In 2011 he joined Villarreal, playing first for their youth side and then for the club's reserve teams.

Loan at Atlético Baleares

For the 2013-14 season Villarreal loaned him to Atlético Baleares in Segunda División B. It was his first full campaign as a regular in senior football: he scored 12 goals in 34 matches, opening his official account on 1 September 2013 against Valencia Mestalla. That season in Palma earned him a step up. In July 2014 he left Villarreal and signed for Córdoba.

Córdoba: from La Liga to second-tier top scorer

He began in Córdoba's reserve team, scoring twice in eight games, the first a penalty on his debut on 7 September 2014. On 3 December he made his first-team debut in the Copa del Rey against Granada, and on 5 January 2015 he played his first La Liga match against the same opponents, scoring in the process. Later that month, against Eibar, he scored ten seconds after kick-off, the fastest top-flight goal in Córdoba's history. The club were relegated in 2015, and in the Spanish second division Andone took off: he was named player of the month for October 2015 and finished 2015-16 with 21 league goals, second in the scoring chart behind Sergio León. On 3 April 2016 he scored his first hat-trick, against Gimnàstic.

Deportivo de La Coruña

On 26 July 2016 he joined Deportivo de La Coruña, which took him back to La Liga. His first year at Riazor was his best in the Spanish top flight: he was named La Liga Player of the Month for December 2016 and the club's supporters voted him their player of the season for 2016-17. The following campaign was harder for both player and team, and Deportivo were relegated in 2018. Over his two seasons in A Coruña he scored 19 league goals.

Brighton, Galatasaray and Cádiz

On 25 May 2018 Brighton & Hove Albion announced his signing. In England he opened his account in the FA Cup, against Bournemouth in January 2019, and in the Premier League he alternated between starts and appearances off the bench during 2018-19. In September 2019 he went on loan to Galatasaray, scoring twice in the Turkish league before suffering a serious knee injury in June 2020 that kept him out for much of the next two years. In August 2021 he returned to La Liga on loan at Cádiz. In September 2022 Brighton and the player agreed to terminate the final year of his deal by mutual consent.

Romania international

He played for Romania's under-19 side in 2012. On 13 June 2015 he made his senior debut in Belfast, in a goalless Euro 2016 qualifier against Northern Ireland, and on 17 November that year he scored his first international goal, the equaliser in a 2-2 friendly draw with Italy in Bologna. He was selected for Euro 2016 in France and started the opening match against the hosts on 10 June in Saint-Denis, a 2-1 defeat. He came on as a substitute in two further games as Romania went out in the group stage. His second international goal came on 5 September 2019, in a 2-1 defeat to Spain in Euro 2020 qualifying. Between 2015 and 2019 he won 25 caps and scored twice for Romania.

Las Palmas, Eldense and a return to Palma

On 1 September 2022 he signed for UD Las Palmas in the Spanish second division. He played 19 league games and scored twice in 2022-23, a season that ended with the Canary Islands club promoted to La Liga. In July 2023 he joined CD Eldense, also in the second tier, making 29 appearances and scoring three goals in 2023-24. After several months without a club, on 1 November 2024 he went back to Atlético Baleares, then in Segunda Federación, the club where he had first made his name in 2013.