Sebastian Árpád Mailat (born 12 December 1997) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga I club Botoșani.

Mailat started out as a senior at his hometown side ACS Poli Timișoara in 2016, and moved to CFR Cluj the following year. He did not impose himself in Cluj-Napoca and was loaned out several times, before signing for Botoșani upon the expiration of his contract in 2022.

Internationally, Mailat represented Romania at under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels.

Club career

Early career / ACS Poli Timișoara
Mailat first came to prominence at age 12, when he won an award for being the most technically gifted player in his age group at a national competition organised by Gheorghe Hagi. After playing as a junior for LPS Banatul Timișoara, he attracted the attention of Steaua București in the summer of 2015, but ultimately chose to sign for his hometown club ACS Poli Timișoara.

On 26 May 2016, Mailat made his professional debut in the Liga I and scored a long-range goal in a 2–3 loss to CSM Studențesc Iași.

CFR Cluj
On 12 November 2017, aged 19, Mailat agreed to a four-year contract with fellow league team CFR Cluj. He made his debut 15 days later, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute for Adrian Păun in a 2–0 Liga I victory over Sepsi OSK. Mailat totalled 13 appearances and scored one goal for "the White-Burgundies" in the 2017–18 season, as they clinched their fourth championship in their history.

On 14 July 2018, he started in the 1–0 win against Universitatea Craiova in the Supercupa României. On 1 August 2018, Mailat registered his European debut by coming on for Ciprian Deac in the 43rd minute of a UEFA Champions League second qualifying round game with Malmö FF (1–1 home draw, 1–2 loss on aggregate). On the 16th that month, he scored in a 5–0 thrashing of Alashkert in the Europa League third qualifying round.

Various loans
On 11 January 2019, Mailat joined Gaz Metan Mediaș on loan for the remainder of the season. The next January, he moved to the Liga II with Universitatea Cluj also on loan, but only made three appearances for CFR's city rivals.

On 25 August 2020, Mailat agreed to a campaign-long loan with Voluntari, for which he amassed 25 games and four goals in all competitions.

Botoșani
On 4 January 2022, Botoșani owner Valeriu Iftime announced the signing of Mailat as a free agent. He made his debut in a 1–0 win against Sepsi OSK on the 20th that month, and scored his only goal of the season in a 5–0 defeat of his former team Gaz Metan Mediaș on 14 March.

On 18 July 2022, Mailat scored his first career double in a 3–2 home win over Chindia Târgoviște in the campaign's opener. He repeated the performance in a 2–3 home loss to FCSB, on 1 December that year. On 20 May 2023, he netted his sixth brace of the season in a 5–1 win against Mioveni, taking his final tally to 16 goals in 36 league matches.

Career statistics

Club

Honours
ACS Poli Timișoara
Cupa Ligii runner-up: 2016–17

CFR Cluj
Liga I: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
Supercupa României: 2018; runner-up: 2019

References

External links

1997 births
Living people
Footballers from Timișoara
Romanian men's footballers
Men's association football wingers
Liga I players
Liga II players
ACS Poli Timișoara players
CFR Cluj players
CS Gaz Metan Mediaș players
FC Universitatea Cluj players
FC Voluntari players
FC Botoșani players
Romania men's youth international footballers