 Hagi started his career playing for the youth teams of Farul Constanța in the 1970s, before being selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul București in 1980, where he remained for two years.In 1982, he returned to Constanța, but one year later, aged 18, he was prepared to make the step up to play for a top team.He was originally directed to Universitatea Craiova, but chose Sportul Studențesc of Bucharest instead.