Iulian Cristea
Romanian footballer (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lucian Iulian Cristea (Romanian pronunciation: [lutʃiˈan juliˈan ˈkriste̯a]; born 17 July 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder for Liga I club Universitatea Cluj.
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Cristea with FCSB in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lucian Iulian Cristea | ||
| Date of birth | 17 July 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Mediaș, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2013 | Gaz Metan Mediaș | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2019 | Gaz Metan Mediaș | 109 | (6) |
| 2014 | → Metalurgistul Cugir (loan) | ||
| 2019–2023 | FCSB | 120 | (8) |
| 2023–2024 | Rapid București | 14 | (0) |
| 2024– | Universitatea Cluj | 66 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2016 | Romania U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Romania | 4 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 4 June 2022 | |||
Club career
After playing over 110 matches in all competitions for his hometown club Gaz Metan Mediaș, Cristea moved to fellow Liga I team FCSB on 26 February 2019.[1] He signed a five-year contract for a €150,000 transfer fee.[2]
On 13 June 2023, after being released by FCSB, Cristea moved to cross-town rivals Rapid București on a two-year deal.[3] He terminated his agreement with Rapid București on 31 May 2024,[4] and on 5 June Universitatea Cluj announced the signing of Cristea as a free agent.[5]
International career
On 10 June 2019, Cristea made his debut for the Romania national team in a 4–0 win against Malta counting for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers.[6]
Style of play
Cristea has been described as versatile, due to his ability to play equally well as either a centre-back or a defensive midfielder, and has been noted for his aerial prowess.[7]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 9 July 2026[8]
| Club | Season | League | Cupa României | Cupa Ligii | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | 2014–15 | Liga I | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Liga II | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 1 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Liga I | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | Liga I | 21 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Liga I | 23 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 109 | 6 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 117 | 6 | |||||
| FCSB | 2018–19 | Liga I | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Liga I | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 7[a] | 1 | — | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | Liga I | 35 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Liga I | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | — | 35 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | Liga I | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 120 | 8 | 4 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 133 | 9 | |||
| Rapid București | 2023–24 | Liga I | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| Universitatea Cluj | 2024–25 | Liga I | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2025–26 | Liga I | 34 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | |||
| 2026–27 | Liga I | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 66 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 309 | 17 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 338 | 19 | ||
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 4 June 2022[9]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | |||
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |