Cosmin Matei

Cosmin Gabriel Matei (born 30 September 1991) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Liga I club Sepsi OSK.

Matei started out his senior career at Farul Constanța in 2008, and has since represented Steaua București, Astra Ploiești, Dinamo București, Viitorul Constanța and Sepsi OSK in his country. Abroad, he competed for teams in Greece, Turkey and Croatia, respectively.

Internationally, Matei earned caps for Romania at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, before making his full debut in May 2014.

Farul Constanța
Matei made his Liga I debut for Farul Constanța on 18 October 2008, in a match against Politehnica Timișoara.

Steaua București
Matei was transferred to Steaua București in July 2010. On 22 August, he recorded his league debut by coming on as a 85th-minute substitute for Romeo Surdu in a 3–0 win over Vaslui.

On 4 September 2010, Matei made his debut for Steaua's reserves in a Liga II game against Juventus București, entering in the 17th minute as they won 1–0.

Astra Ploiești
In June 2011, Matei was transferred to Astra Ploiești. He did not impress during his stint in Prahova County, appearing in only five matches without scoring.

Dinamo București
In August 2012, Matei penned down a five-year contract with Dinamo București, the cross-town rival of his former club Steaua. He scored his first goal in a game against Universitatea Cluj, on 2 May that year.

Atromitos
In January 2016, Matei moved abroad for the first time after joining Greek club Atromitos for an undisclosed transfer fee.

Gençlerbirliği
On 10 August 2016, Süper Lig side Gençlerbirliği announced the signing of Matei on a three-year deal.

Viitorul Constanța
On 26 August 2019, Matei returned to Romania by agreeing to a two-year contract with Viitorul Constanța.

Return to Dinamo București
In September 2021, Matei returned to Dinamo București as one of the experienced players in a youth-oriented squad. After several unconvincing performances, he was excluded from the first team in December 2021 by manager Mircea Rednic. He resumed trainings the following month after Rednic's dismissal, but Dinamo continued its poor results which led to the first relegation in the club history.

Matei became the first player to depart Dinamo after the relegation, only three days after featuring 73 minutes in the decisive promotion/relegation play-off match against Universitatea Cluj.

Sepsi OSK
On 2 June 2022, shortly after Dinamo București's relegation, Matei remained in the Liga I by signing a two-year contract with Sepsi OSK. He made his debut on 9 July, in a 2–1 victory over CFR Cluj in the Supercupa României.

International career
Matei made his debut for the Romania national team in a friendly against Albania played in Switzerland, in May 2014.

Honours
Steaua București
 * Cupa României: 2010–11

Dinamo București
 * Cupa României: 2011–12
 * Supercupa României: 2012

Sepsi OSK
 * Cupa României: 2022–23
 * Supercupa României: 2022, 2023

Individual
 * Liga I Player of the Month: April 2014