Marius Corbu

Marius Corbu
Corbu with Ferencváros in 2026
Personal information
Full name Marius Dumitru Corbu
Date of birth (2002-05-07) 7 May 2002
Place of birth Cădărești, Romania
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Ferencváros
Number 17
Youth career
2013–2019 Csíkszereda
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Csíkszereda 4 (0)
2020–2024 Puskás Akadémia 112 (12)
2020 → Csákvár (loan) 2 (0)
2021 → Csákvár (loan) 1 (1)
2024–2026 APOEL 45 (7)
2026– Ferencváros 15 (3)
International career‡
2021 Romania U20 2 (0)
2021–2025 Romania U21 21 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 August 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 June 2025

Marius Dumitru Corbu (born 7 May 2002) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Ferencváros. Corbu began his senior career with Csíkszereda in 2019, before transferring to Hungarian club Puskás Akadémia the following year. In 2024, he signed for Cypriot side APOEL as a free agent. Corbu returned to Hungary in January 2026 to join Ferencváros, where he won the Magyar Kupa later that season. At an international level, Corbu represented Romania under-21 at the 2023 and 2025 UEFA European Championships.

Club career

Early life and Csíkszereda

Corbu was born in Cădărești (Magyarcsügés), in Bacău County, later describing it as a "small, hidden village, with few inhabitants".[1] He attended primary school in that locality, and, having little access to electronic devices, dedicated most of his time to playing football—sometimes competing against grown men.[2] Young Corbu also worked daily on his parents' farm and, with less regularity, on his grandfather's pub.[1] He was allowed to watch matches on television, and became an admirer of Lionel Messi.[1]

Aged eleven, Corbu was taken by his father to Miercurea Ciuc, where he signed up for FK Csíkszereda's youth academy.[1][2] His most influential teachers were Barna Bajkó and Zoltán Dusinszki.[1] Corbu made his senior debut for Csíkszereda on 21 September 2019, aged 17, starting in a 1–0 away victory over Sportul Snagov in Liga II.[3][4]

Puskás Akadémia

Corbu played for Csíkszereda's youth team during a 2019 tournament in Dunajská Streda, where he signed for the Hungarian club Puskás Akadémia.[2] In 2021, he graduated from a high school in Gyula.[1] His advancement in football was initually hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but then helped by it: when the virus affected Puskás's main squad, he was quickly promoted as a permanent fixture.[1] He appeared in a 2020 Europa League qualifier, which his team lost to Hammarby Fotboll.[1] Three days later, he made his Nemzeti Bajnokság I debut in a 3–2 home victory over Újpest, also as a substitute.[5]

During the 2020–21 season, Corbu spent part of the campaign on loan at Csákvár, making two league appearances. He scored his first Nemzeti Bajnokság I goal on 18 August 2021, in a 3–1 away victory over Zalaegerszeg.[6] During his four seasons with Puskás Akadémia between 2020 and 2024, Corbu made 112 league appearances and scored 12 goals, helping the club finish as league runners-up once.[7]

APOEL and Ferencváros

Corbu's contract with Puskás expired in summer 2024. He was scouted by SC Heerenveen, US Lecce and FC Basel, but opted for APOEL FC, in the Cypriot First Division;[8] he signed a four-year contract with that side on 8 July 2024, as a free agent.[9] He made his Cypriot First Division debut on 1 September, coming on as a half-time substitute and scoring in the 54th minute of a 1–3 home loss to Ethnikos Achna.[10] On 25 September 2024, Corbu won his first senior trophy after APOEL defeated Pafos 1–0 in the Cypriot Super Cup, entering the match as a 66th-minute substitute.[11]

On 26 January 2026, Corbu returned to Hungary, joining top flight club Ferencváros for a fee reported to be between €1.3 million and €1.5 million.[4][12][13] On 9 May, he won the 2025–26 Magyar Kupa after defeating Zalaegerszeg 1–0 in the final at the Puskás Aréna.[14] Corbu scored his first goal in European competitions on 5 August 2026, netting in a 1–0 home victory over Polish side Górnik Zabrze in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round.[15] He scored again on 27 August, helping to a 4–0 second leg win against Turkish club Trabzonspor in the play-off round (5–0 on aggregate).[16]

Personal life

Corbu was born in a multiethnic area inhabited by Romanians and Csángós, a subgroup of the Hungarian minority. His ancestors belonged to the latter group, but underwent Romanianization, like many residents of Cădărești.[2] In a 2021 interview, Corbu said that he had spoken only rudimentary Hungarian while growing up and described himself as a "proud Csángó", with distant Székely ancestry and partial Romanian ancestry on his mother's side.[1]

Journalist Miklós Novák reconstructs Corbu's Hungarian name as Korbuly Marius.[2] In early 2021, at a time when he had not been fully inducted by Romania's under-21 squad, the young man stated that his dream was to play for the national Hungarian team.[1] In line with his Csángó identity, he is a practicing Catholic.[2]

Career statistics

As of match played 30 August 2026[17][18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Csíkszereda 2019–20 Liga II 4000——40
Puskás Akadémia 2020–21 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 200301[b]0—240
2021–22 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 324203[c]0—374
2022–23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 306501[c]0—366
2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 30230——332
Total 11212130500013012
Csákvár (loan) 2020–21 Nemzeti Bajnokság II 20———20
2021–22 Nemzeti Bajnokság II 11———11
Total 3100000031
APOEL 2024–25 Cypriot First Division 273007[d]01[e]0353
2025–26 Cypriot First Division 18410——194
Total 457107010547
Ferencváros 2025–26 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 1123000—142
2026–27 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 41008[b]2—123
Total 153307820265
Career total 179231702021021725
  1. ↑ Includes Magyar Kupa, Cypriot Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  3. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League and three appearances in UEFA Conference League
  5. ↑ Appearance in Cypriot Super Cup

Honours

APOEL

Ferencváros

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Németh, Krisztián (15 May 2021). "Szerelme Erdély, mindene a futball" [Transylvania is his love, football is his everything]. Fejér Megyei Hirlap (in Hungarian). p. 9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Miklós, Novák (24 February 2021). "Kötélhúzás a csángótehetségért. Corbu Marius utánpótláskorban román válogatott marad, de később még magyar is lehet" [Battle for the Csángó talent. Corbu Marius will remain a Romanian international at youth level, but could later also play for Hungary]. Magyar Nemzet (in Hungarian). p. 11.
  3. ↑ "57 de jucători U20 au evoluat în etapa 8 din Liga 2" [57 U20 players took the field in Matchday 8 of Liga 2] (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Kitekintő | A Ferencvároshoz igazolt Corbu Marius" [Looking abroad | Marius Corbu joins Ferencváros] (in Hungarian). FK Csíkszereda. 27 January 2026. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Orbán, Zsolt (31 August 2020). "Először kapott ki a Budafok, Corbu debütált az NB I-ben" [Budafok lost for the first time, Corbu made his NB I debut] (in Hungarian). Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Corbu-gól zárta le a „kétnapos" csatát" [Corbu's goal ended the two-day battle] (in Hungarian). Puskás Akadémia. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Elköszönünk fiatal középpályásunktól – videó" [We say goodbye to our young midfielder – video] (in Hungarian). Puskás Akadémia. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  8. ↑ Darvas, Attila (7 November 2024). "Rangsorolták az akadémiákat. Ezüstérmes az FK Csíkszereda" [The academies have been ranked. FK Csíkszereda is the silver medalist]. Hargita Népe. p. 19.
  9. ↑ "Έναρξη συνεργασίας με Marius Corbu" [Start of cooperation with Marius Corbu] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Kitekintő | Corbu Marius góllal mutatkozott be a ciprusi bajnokságban" [Looking abroad | Marius Corbu scored on his Cypriot league debut] (in Hungarian). FK Csíkszereda. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Kitekintő | Szuperkupát nyert Corbu Marius" [Looking abroad | Marius Corbu won the Super Cup] (in Hungarian). FK Csíkszereda. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Marius Corbut szerződtette a Ferencváros – hivatalos" [Ferencváros have signed Marius Corbu – official]. Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 26 January 2026. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  13. ↑ "Ferencvaros a plătit 1.500.000€ pentru transferul unui fotbalist român" [Ferencváros paid €1,500,000 for the transfer of a Romanian footballer] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 26 January 2026. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Gundel-Takács tizenegyest védett, de Raemaekers a Fradi javára döntötte el a kupadöntőt" [Gundel-Takács saved a penalty, but Raemaekers decided the cup final in Fradi's favour]. Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 9 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Ferencváros – Górnik Zabrze 1–0". UEFA.com. 5 August 2026. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Ferencváros – Trabzonspor 4–0". UEFA.com. 27 August 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  17. ↑ Marius Corbu at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  18. ↑ "CORBU MARIUS DUMITRU" (in Hungarian). MLSZ. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
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