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.

At international level, Corbu represented Romania under-21 at the 2023 and 2025 UEFA European Championships. He returned to Hungary in January 2026 to join Ferencváros, where he won the Magyar Kupa later that season.

Club career

Early career / Csíkszereda Corbu was born in Cădărești (Magyarcsügés), Bacău County, which he described as a "small, hidden village, with few inhabitants". He attended primary school there and, having limited access to electronic devices, spent much of his free time playing football, sometimes against adults. He also worked daily on his parents' farm and, less regularly, at his grandfather's pub. Growing up, he was an admirer of Lionel Messi.

At the age of eleven, Corbu was taken by his father to Miercurea Ciuc, where he joined Csíkszereda's youth academy. His most influential coaches there were Barna Bajkó and Zoltán Dusinszki. 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.

Puskás Akadémia In late 2019, Corbu was signed by Hungarian side Puskás Akadémia after representing Csíkszereda at a youth tournament in Dunajská Streda. In 2021, he graduated from a high school in Gyula. He initially played for Puskás's reserve side, but his progress was accelerated when the COVID-19 pandemic affected the club, leading to his promotion to the first-team squad.

Corbu made his first-team debut on 27 August 2020 in a UEFA Europa League first qualifying round match against Hammarby IF, replacing Weslen Júnior in the 3–0 defeat. Three days later, he made his Nemzeti Bajnokság I debut in a 3–2 home victory over Újpest, also as a substitute. In 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. 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.

APOEL Corbu's contract with Puskás Akadémia expired in summer 2024. After attracting interest from Heerenveen, Lecce, and Basel, he joined APOEL in the Cypriot First Division as a free agent, signing a four-year contract on 8 July 2024. Corbu 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. On 25 September 2024, he won his first senior trophy after APOEL defeated Pafos 1–0 in the Cypriot Super Cup, entering the match as a 66th-minute substitute.

Ferencváros 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. On 9 May, he won the 2025–26 Magyar Kupa after defeating Zalaegerszeg 1–0 in the final at the Puskás Aréna. 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. 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).

International career In early 2021, before being fully integrated into the Romania under-21 team, Corbu stated that his ambition was to represent Hungary. He subsequently represented Romania at the 2023 and 2025 European Under-21 Championships.

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, as did many residents of Cădărești. In a 2021 interview, Corbu said that he had spoken only rudimentary Hungarian growing up, but described himself as a "proud Csángó", also citing distant Székely ancestry and partial Romanian ancestry on his mother's side. Journalist Miklós Novák reconstructs his Hungarian name as "Korbuly Marius". In line with his Csángó identity, he is a practicing Catholic.

Career statistics

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsFK Csíkszereda2019–20Liga II4000——40Puskás Akadémia2020–21Nemzeti Bajnokság I2003010—2402021–22Nemzeti Bajnokság I3242030—3742022–23Nemzeti Bajnokság I3065010—3662023–24Nemzeti Bajnokság I30230——332Total11212130500013012Csákvár (loan)2020–21Nemzeti Bajnokság II20———202021–22Nemzeti Bajnokság II11———11Total3100000031APOEL2024–25Cypriot First Division2730070103532025–26Cypriot First Division18410——194Total457107010547Ferencváros2025–26Nemzeti Bajnokság I1123000—1422026–27Nemzeti Bajnokság I710092—163Total1833092—295Career total182231702121022125

Honours APOEL Cypriot Super Cup: 2024

Ferencváros Magyar Kupa: 2025–26

References

External links