Alexandru Ionuț Mitriță (; born 8 February 1995) is țăa Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Liga I club Universitatea Craiova and the Romania national team.
Mitriță represented several teams in his country before transferring abroad to Pescara in 2015, at age 20. After two years in Italy, he returned to Romania on an initial loan at his hometown club Universitatea Craiova, becoming an undisputed starter and winning the Cupa României in the 2017–18 season. His performances inspired a move to American team New York City in 2019, joining them as a Designated Player for a US$9.1 million transfer fee. Following several loans to Saudi Arabia and Greece, Mitriță returned to Craiova in the summer of 2023.
Internationally, Mitriță was capped by Romania at several youth levels before making his full debut in March 2018, in a 2–1 friendly win over Israel. He scored his first goal for the nation on 12 October 2019, in a 3–0 away win over the Faroe Islands.
Club career
Early career / Viitorul Constanța
Born in Craiova, Mitriță started his senior career with Gaz Metan Severin in 2011, and during early 2013 joined Viitorul Constanța. In September that year, aged 18, he was loaned by FC Steaua București to play for their UEFA Youth League side; his senior output for the club consisted in only one match in the Cupa României, and he returned to Viitorul the following year.
Mitriță played his first match upon his return on 23 February 2014, in a 2–1 away win against Dinamo București. He recorded his first Liga I goal on 21 May that year, in a 1–0 victory over Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.
Pescara
In July 2015, Mitriță was transferred to Italian club Pescara for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be around €1 million. He made 20 appearances and scored one goal in all competitions in his debut campaign, as the team achieved promotion to the Serie A. Mitriță's first goal in the Italian top division came on 22 May 2017, in a 2–0 home defeat of Palermo.
Universitatea Craiova
On 21 July 2017, Universitatea Craiova announced an agreement for the loan of Mitriță from Pescara. He made his competitive debut six days later, in a 0–1 home loss to AC Milan in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. His first goal came in a 1–1 league draw with Astra Giurgiu on 6 August. On 20 August, Mitriță scored the goals of a 2–0 win against his former team Viitorul.
On 16 December 2017, Mitriță converted a free kick in a 2–1 victory over eventual champions CFR Cluj. A few days earlier, press reported that Craiova had signed him on a permanent basis; the deal was confirmed on 17 January 2018, with the Alb-albaștrii paying a previously agreed €730,000 and Pescara retaining 15% interest. He netted his first goal of 2018 on 10 March, an 82nd-minute winner against Astra Giurgiu. On 14 April, Mitriță scored his first career hat-trick in a 4–1 home defeat of Politehnica Iași. In the Cupa României final on 27 May, he scored a goal and was named Man of the Match in a 2–0 win over Liga II side Hermannstadt. He went on to finish his first campaign in Craiova with 38 appearances and 16 goals across all competitions, being selected by the LPF in the best team of the championship play-offs.
In July 2018, Mitriță gained team captaincy and played in the 0–1 Supercupa României loss to CFR Cluj. By the first half of the regular season in late October, he shared the top scorer position with FCSB striker Harlem Gnohéré after netting nine goals. On 9 November, he was sent off in the 57th minute of a 1–1 draw with Sepsi OSK after being booked twice for diving; Mitriță also cursed referee Radu Petrescu, but was only given a one-match suspension. The incident did not prevent him from later being nominated for Gazeta Sporturilor'''s 2018 Romanian Footballer of the Year award. On 19 December, in the closing fixture of the calendar year, he scored his fourth double of the campaign in a 2–0 victory against Gaz Metan Mediaș.
New York City FC
On 4 February 2019, Mitriță officially joined Major League Soccer club New York City FC as a Designated Player. Craiova revealed that the transfer fee was US$9.1 million, which made him the third-most expensive sale of the Romanian championship at the time. Mitriță registered his debut on 8 February, celebrating his birthday by opening the scoring in a 1–1 friendly draw with Swedish team AIK in Abu Dhabi. In the season opener on 2 March, Mitriță assisted captain Alexander Ring in a 2–2 draw at Orlando City. He netted his first competitive goal on the 17th that month, in a 2–2 draw with Los Angeles FC.