Gheorghe Popescu, A Barcelona Legend Who Was A Spy At The Start Of His Career

Gheorghe Popescu (Instagram @FCBarcelonaFI)

JAKARTA - Gheorghe Popescu may be remembered for his Champions League winners medal with Barcelona or his 115 appearances in the costumes of the Romanian national team.

For English Premier League fans, he is also remembered for his three goals in 23 top-flight appearances for Tottenham Hotspur.

But, who would have thought if at the beginning of his football career when he played with Universitatea Craiova he had been a spy. And this story is equally interesting.

The former Romanian captain once assisted the secret police, Securitate, which was under Nicolae Ceacescu's regime during the 1980s.

During Ceausescu's rule, national security kept a close eye on Romanian athletes. Several players involved in international competitions were asked to share details of their conversations with strangers.

Launching the Daily Star, Saturday, April 3, through four notebooks, Popescu wrote down information regarding his teammates and other colleagues at the Universitatea Craiova club.

Universitatea Craiova was a regular participant in the UEFA Cup or Cup Winners' Cup in the 80s and Securitate wants to keep an eye on the troublemakers.

Popescu initially denied helping the secret police. However, he later admitted to having signed documents promising to defend national interests.

He helped spy on his teammates for three years from 1986 until Ceausescu's reign ended.