Cosmin Gabriel Matei (; born 30 September 1991) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Liga II club Sepsi OSK, which he captains.
Matei started out his senior career at Farul ConstanÃÂa in 2008, and has since represented Steaua BucureÃÂti, Astra PloieÃÂti, Dinamo BucureÃÂti, Viitorul ConstanÃÂa 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.
Matei made his Liga I debut for Farul ConstanÃÂa on 18 October 2008, in a match against Politehnica TimiÃÂoara.
Matei was transferred to Steaua BucureÃÂti in July 2010. On 22 August, he recorded his league debut by coming on as a 85th-minute substitute for Romeo Surdu in a 3âÂÂ0 win over Vaslui.
On 4 September 2010, Matei made his debut for Steaua's reserves in a Liga II game against Juventus BucureÃÂti, entering in the 17th minute as they won 1âÂÂ0.
In June 2011, Matei was transferred to Astra PloieÃÂti. He did not impress during his stint in Prahova County, appearing in only five matches without scoring.
In August 2012, Matei penned down a five-year contract with Dinamo BucureÃÂti, 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.
In January 2016, Matei moved abroad for the first time after joining Greek club Atromitos for an undisclosed transfer fee.
On 10 August 2016, Süper Lig side GençlerbirliÃÂi announced the signing of Matei on a three-year deal.
On 26 August 2019, Matei returned to Romania by agreeing to a two-year contract with Viitorul ConstanÃÂa.
In September 2021, Matei returned to Dinamo BucureÃÂti 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.
On 2 June 2022, shortly after Dinamo BucureÃÂti'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 2âÂÂ1 victory over CFR Cluj in the Supercupa României.
Matei made his debut for the Romania national team in a friendly against Albania played in Switzerland, in May 2014.
Steaua BucureÃÂti
Dinamo BucureÃÂti
Sepsi OSK
Individual