 He was put on the transfer list in the summer of 2006.Cristea moved to fellow Liga I club Politehnica Timişoara, in a swap which saw Gigel Coman move to Steaua Bucureşti.After failing to impress at Politehnica Timişoara, he was loaned to Politehnica Iaşi for the second part of the 2007–08 season, where he had a great part in saving the team from relegation, with man of the match performances against CFR Cluj and his former team, Steaua Bucureşti.