# Rareș Ilie

Rareș Andrei Ilie (Romanian pronunciation:; born 19 April 2003) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie B club Catanzaro, on loan from Ligue 1 club Nice.
Ilie started out as a senior with Rapid București at age 17, amassing over 50 matches in the first two leagues combined before signing for French team Nice in 2022.
At international level, he has represented the under-18, under-19 and under-21 sides of Romania.

## Club career
### Rapid București

Ilie made his senior debut for Rapid București on 5 September 2020, aged 17, in a 2–1 victory over Pandurii Târgu Jiu in the Liga II championship. On 19 November that year, he scored his first goal in a 1–0 league win against Universitatea Cluj. Ilie amassed three goals from 22 appearances during his debut season in Bucharest, with "the White-Burgundies" finishing as Liga II runners-up and thus earning direct promotion.
On 18 July 2021, Ilie recorded his professional debut by starting in a 1–0 Liga I defeat of Chindia Târgoviște. His first goal in the competition came on 19 November, in a 2–2 away draw against the same opponent. Ilie contributed with 38 games and six goals in all competitions during the 2021–22 campaign, being one of the most proficient players of Rapid București.

### Nice

On 14 July 2022, Rapid București shareholder Victor Angelescu announced an agreement for the move of Ilie to Ligue 1 club Nice. The French side officialised his signing three days later, and press generally reported the transfer fee as €5 million plus bonuses.
Ilie made his debut on 7 August 2022, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Alexis Beka Beka in a 1–1 league draw at Toulouse, and one week later started in a 1–1 home draw with Strasbourg. On the 18th, he registered his European debut in a 0–1 away loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round.

#### Loans to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Lausanne-Sport and Catanzaro loans

On 1 February 2023, Ilie moved to Israeli Premier League team Maccabi Tel Aviv on loan for the remainder the season. He started in eight league matches and failed to score any goals.
On 20 June 2023, Ilie signed for newly-promoted Swiss Super League club Lausanne-Sport on a season-long loan deal. On 29 July, he scored his first goal by opening a 1–1 home draw with Grasshoppers.
On 24 January 2025, Ilie signed for Italian Serie B club Catanzaro on a half-season loan deal, with option to make the deal permanent.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Rapid București | 2020–21 | Liga II | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 3 |
| Rapid București | 2021–22 | Liga I | 36 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 38 | 6 |
| Rapid București | Total | Total | 58 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 60 | 9 |
| Nice | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| Nice | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Nice | Total | Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan) | 2022–23 | Israeli Premier League | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Lausanne-Sport (loan) | 2023–24 | Swiss Super League | 29 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 4 |
| Catanzaro (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie B | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 105 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 114 | 13 |