Carlo Casap reveals rejecting Udinese and AC Milan trials for Hagi academy

Carlo Casap has revealed that he passed trials at Udinese and received an invitation from AC Milan as a junior but ultimately chose to continue his development in Romania. The midfielder stated that Udinese wanted to retain him after he attended trials alongside two Poli Timișoara teammates, and AC Milan later expressed interest following a training match. Casap explained that regulatory restrictions prevented him from signing abroad until he turned 16.

During this period, Gică Hagi identified Casap at the Danone Cup and sought to bring him into his academy. Despite having prospects in Italy, Casap decided to accept Hagi's proposal. His path to the academy was complicated by administrative issues at his parent club. Poli Timișoara entered bankruptcy while he was still a junior, and the club reportedly refused to release him without compensation, rejecting his father's attempts to pay the required training fee.

Casap recounted that when it came time to register with successor entity ACS Poli Timișoara, his father tore up the paperwork. He became a free agent several weeks later, which allowed him to finalize his move to Hagi's academy rather than relocate to Italy. Casap made these remarks during an interview published by iAMsport.ro.

The decision to join the academy proved significant for Casap's career trajectory. He moved to Viitorul Constanța in 2012 and went on to win the Romanian league title twice, in 2017 and 2023, as well as the Romanian Cup and Super Cup in 2019. Throughout his senior career, he has also represented Concordia Chiajna, FC Botoșani, KF Prishtina e Re and CSC Dumbrăvița, earning four appearances for the Romania U21 national team.