Hagi retired from professional football in 2001, at the age of 36; that year, he was given a send-off in a testimonial game on 24 April, called "Gala Hagi," featuring a team of Romanian All-Stars against a team of international All-Stars. At the time of his retirement, his 124 caps for his country were a national record, which has since been surpassed by Dorinel Munteanu. He currently still holds the record of most goals scored for the Romanian national team, alongside Adrian Mutu, with 35.