 Following the departure of Bölöni in the summer of 2006, he returned to Romania, joining ACF Gloria 1922 Bistrița where he impressed overall, helping them to a final sixth position in the top division and qualification to the UEFA Intertoto Cup; he was also team captain.On 12 January 2008, Sepsi signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with S.L.Benfica from the Portuguese Primeira Liga for an undisclosed fee (newspapers reported that it could have been something between €1.8 and 2.5 million).