![]() 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) | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Rapid București | ||
Number | 15 | ||
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– | Rapid București | 9 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2014–2016 | Romania U21 | 6 | (0) |
2019– | Romania | 4 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 February 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 June 2022 |
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 Rapid București.
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]
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.[4]
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.[5]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | 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 | 1 | — | 38 | 2 | |||
2020–21 | Liga I | 35 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 4 | ||
2021–22 | Liga I | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 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 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
Career total | 238 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 261 | 16 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Romania | |||
2019 | 1 | 0 | |
2020 | 2 | 0 | |
2022 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 4 | 0 |
Gaz Metan Mediaș[6]
FCSB[6]
Individual