Claudiu Keșerü

Club career

A product of the FC Bihor Oradea Academy, Claudiu (Cleo) Keșerü played a season for his hometown club in 15 matches and scored 3 goals in the second Romanian division, Liga II.

Nantes

In 2003, he was bought in France by Nantes. Initially included in the second team, he was promoted to the first team after a season and debuted in Ligue 1, the top French football division. He played for Nantes four years, and scored 11 goals in 81 matches. He relegated with the club in Ligue 2 in 2007 and promoted back a year later.

Various loans

In 2008, Keșerü was loaned by Nantes to the Ligue 2 side FC Libourne Saint Seurin. For Libourne, he scored 11 goals in 17 matches, but was used more as a substitute. After a season, he was taken back, and then loaned to another Ligue 2 side Tours FC where he scored 7 goals in 12 matches.

Angers

In 2010, Keșerü was loaned by Nantes to the Ligue 2 club, Angers SCO. In his first season spent there, he scored 4 goals in 14 matches, and was bought from Nantes after the end of loan period. He spent three years to Angers, being used as regular. Keșerü scored 33 goals in 100 matches for Angers.

Bastia

Wanted by clubs like Steaua București and Olympiacos Piraeus, Keșerü decided to remain in France and signed a deal with Ligue 1 side, SC Bastia. On 31 August 2013, he scored his first goal for Bastia in a 2-1 win over Toulouse. He played 16 matches in Ligue 1, but failed to impress and left the club in the winter of 2014.

Steaua București

In January 2014, Keșerü signed a contract with Romanian champions Steaua București. With the club, he won the league title and played the final of the Romanian Cup. His first goal in a European competition came in the 2-2 draw against FC Aktobe in UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

Keșerü broke the club record for goals in a single game, scoring all six goals in a 6-0 win over Pandurii on 15 August 2014. The record was previously held by his coach, Constantin Gâlcă, who scored five times in a 5-0 win against FC Brașov in 1994. It was the first time that a player scored six goals in a Liga I game since 9 June 1993, when Marian Popa of Farul Constanța accomplished the feat in a 6-3 win over Oțelul Galați. In a 6-0 win over Aalborg BK in 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group round first matchday, on 18 September 2014, Keserü scored a hat-trick in just 12 minutes, between the 61st and 72nd minutes, resulting in the fastest hat-trick in UEFA Europa League history.

Al-Gharafa

In February 2015, he reached a deal with Qatari side Al-Gharafa. The contract's length is two and a half years, with a salary of €2.5 million.

Ludogorets Razgrad

Keșerü then signed a three-year contract in August 2015 with Ludogorets Razgrad worth a gross annual value of €700,000 becoming the highest-paid player ever of The Eagles. In his first season at Ludogorets, the Romanian helped the team to win the championship, becoming its top goalscorer with 15 goals. Keșerü scored an equalizer against Red Star Belgrade in the first leg of third qualifying round of the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League, and then another equalizer in the second leg away match against Viktoria Plzeň in the play-off, helping his team to qualify for the group stage. He scored his maiden goal in the Champions League groups to give a 2-0 lead in the home match against Arsenal, but Ludogorets eventually lost by 2-3. On 28 October 2016, Keșerü scored his first hat-trick for Ludogorets in a First League match against Dunav Ruse.

International career

On 11 October 2013, Keșerü made his debut for Romania in a 4-0 win against Andorra, scoring the first goal. Keșerü was selected in Romania's squad for Euro 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in the second group match against Switzerland, his only appearance of the tournament as Romania finished bottom of the group.

International goals

Statistics

Statistics accurate as of matches played 6 March 2017

Club

Individual