Career
Politehnica Iași Cristea started his career in his home town, Iași, for Politehnica. Cristea impressed in the first half of the 2004-2005 season, scoring five goals in 15 games. Between the teams against he managed to score was found Steaua Bucharest.
Dinamo That goal brought him in the attention of Steaua"s rivals, Dinamo who enrolled the player in January 2005.
He became a favourite for the fans with his technique and his goals from outside the area, but was criticised for his lack of attitude in some games. Also, he became an important figure in the tabloids due to his lovelife.
Universitatea Cluj and Petrolul In December 2010, Cristea was sold to Universitatea Cluj, his former club Dinamo Bucureşti received a total fee of €2m. In the summer of 2012, he was transferred to Petrolul Ploiești, with the entire squad of Universitatea Cluj, when the owner of the Cluj team took control of Petrolul.
His first experience abroad came in 2013, when he was loaned to Standard Liège, where he was wanted by Mircea Rednic, a coach that worked with him at Petrolul and Dinamo.
Steaua On July 30, he signed a two-year contract with Steaua Bucharest. He made his debut for Steaua Bucharest on August 11, against Dinamo Bucharest, the team where he played for 6 years between 2004-2010. On September 14, he scored his first goal for Steaua Bucharest, against Săgeata.
Concordia In September 2014, Cristea reached an agreement with Liga I team Concordia Chiajna.
In February 2007, Cristea made his debut for the national team, in a friendly game against Moldova. In 2008, he was called by Victor Piţurcă in the squad for European Championship, but he didn"t receive a chance to play.
Club Dinamo București Steaua București.