Gabriel Mureșan

Gabriel Stelian Mureșan (13 February 1982 – 8 July 2026) was a Romanian professional footballer, who played as a defensive midfielder, and politician.

Club career Early career Mureșan was born on 13 February 1982 in Sighișoara, Romania and began playing junior-level football while being aged 13 at local club Dealul Mare. When he was 17 he went for six months at Gaz Metan Mediaș.

In 2005 when Sabău left Mediaș to go to Gloria Bistrița, he took Mureșan with him, and gave him his Liga I debut on 24 September in a 2–1 away loss to Pandurii Târgu Jiu. He scored his first goal on 21 October in a 2–1 win over FCM Bacău. Mureșan would score another goal in a 2–0 win against Sportul Studențesc București, ending his first top-league season with three goals scored in 18 appearances but also receiving three red cards. In his first season with CFR, he helped the club win The Double which were the first trophies in the club's history, being used by coach Ioan Andone in 22 league games. He also played in the Cupa României final, Andone sending him in the 81st minute to replace Sixto Peralta in the 2–1 win over Unirea Urziceni. Additionally, he made his debut in a European club competition, playing in both legs of the 3–1 loss on aggregate to Anorthosis in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round. Mureșan then played six games in the 2008–09 Champions League group stage with The Railway Men, including a historical 2–1 victory at Stadio Olimpico against AS Roma, earning the nickname "The Pope from Rome" after managing 23 rebounds in the match. In the same season he won another Cupa României, coach Toni Conceição using him the entire match in the 3–0 win over Politehnica Timișoara in the final.

In the 2009–10 season, Mureșan won with CFR another Double, being used by coaches Conceição and Andrea Mandorlini in 28 games, scoring two goals in both victories against Rapid București. He also played the entire match in the victory at the penalty shoot-out against FC Vaslui in the Cupa României final. Mureșan scored an important goal with a header in a 2–1 win against FK Sarajevo in the 2009–10 Europa League play-off, which helped the team reach the group stage, where he played four games, receiving a red card in a 3–2 loss to Sparta Prague. He started the following season by winning the 2010 Supercupa României, coach Mandorlini using him the entire match in the penalty shoot-out victory against Unirea Urziceni. Subsequently, he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win against Basel in the 2010–11 Champions League group stage.

Mureșan's last trophy won with The White and Burgundies was the 2011–12 title, as coaches Jorge Costa and Andone used him in 28 matches, where he scored four goals, including a brace in a 2–0 win over Oțelul Galați and one goal in the 3–2 derby victory against Universitatea Cluj which mathematically made them champions. Next season he played 10 games in the team's 2012–13 Champions League campaign as they got past Slovan Liberec and Basel in the qualifying rounds, then earned 10 points in a group composed of Manchester United, Galatasaray and Braga, which helped them finish third. Subsequently, they qualified for the round of 32 in the Europa League, where he featured in both legs of their defeat to Inter Milan.

Tom Tomsk After six seasons spent at CFR, Mureșan went to play for Tom Tomsk. He made his Russian Premier League debut on 16 July 2013 when coach Anatoliy Davydov used him the entire match in a 2–0 away loss to Amkar Perm. He appeared in 21 league games until the end of season as the team finished in 13th place and was relegated to the second division. There, after playing two matches in the following season, Mureșan left the team. Subsequently, they received harsh suspensions from the Disciplinary Commission of the Romanian Football Federation, which were eventually reduced after they made an appeal. By the end of the season he scored five goals in 25 matches, including a spectacular double in a 2–1 win against Dinamo București.

Mureșan started the following season by winning the Supercupa României, coach Dan Petrescu using him the full 90 minutes in the 1–0 victory against Steaua. Afterwards, he played in ASA's 4–2 aggregate loss to Saint-Étienne in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, having a total of 28 appearances with one goal in European competitions. Mureșan made his last Liga I appearance on 15 April 2017 in a 0–0 draw against Poli Timișoara, totaling 260 matches with 37 goals in the competition.

International career Mureșan made nine appearances for Romania, making his debut on 2 June 2007 when coach Victor Pițurcă sent him to replace Dorel Stoica in the 79th minute of a Euro 2008 qualification game against Slovenia which ended with a 2–1 victory. His second game for the national team was in a 2–2 draw against France in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and he also played in three matches during the Euro 2012 qualifiers. On 11 July 2011, Mureșan captained the team in a friendly 2–0 away loss to Paraguay. He was re-elected in 2024 with 88.83% of the votes.

Death Mureșan drowned while swimming in a lake near the village of Șaeș (part of the Apold commune) on 8 July 2026. He was 44.

Honours CFR Cluj Liga I: 2007–08, 2009–10, 2011–12 Cupa României: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 Supercupa României: 2009, 2010 ASA Târgu Mureș Supercupa României: 2015