 Popa in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1988-07-24)24 July 1988 (age 37) | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | CSA Steaua București | ||
| Number | 77 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2005 | CSȘ 1 Pajura | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2009 | Politehnica II Timișoara | 87 | (26) |
| 2007–2008 | →CS Buftea (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2009 | →Gloria Buzău (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Universitatea Cluj | 24 | (3) |
| 2010–2012 | Concordia Chiajna | 60 | (10) |
| 2012–2017 | Steaua București | 137 | (20) |
| 2017–2020 | Reading | 15 | (1) |
| 2018 | →Al-Taawoun (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 2019 | →Ludogorets Razgrad (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | →FCSB (loan) | 17 | (2) |
| 2020–2021 | Voluntari | 8 | (2) |
| 2021 | Academica Clinceni | 19 | (2) |
| 2021–2023 | CSA Steaua București | 47 | (11) |
| 2023–2024 | Concordia Chiajna | 5 | (0) |
| 2024– | CSA Steaua București | 39 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2012–2017 | Romania | 24 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2 November 2025 | |||
Adrian Popa (born 24 July 1988) is a Romanian professionalfootballer who plays as awinger forLiga II clubCSA Steaua București.
Popa was one of the most proficient players of thePolitehnica Timișoara reserve team, and was loaned toCS Buftea andGloria Buzău.
In July 2009, Popa signed a contract withUniversitatea Cluj. Although he showed impressive skills and helped the team get promoted to thefirst division, he left the club after one year.
In 2010, Popa joinedConcordia Chiajna. He contributed to the club's promotion to the first division and was kept for the following season.
On 15 August 2012, Popa signed a five-year contract withFCSB for an undisclosed transfer fee.[1][2] One week later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 away win overFK Ekranas in theEuropa League play-off round's first leg.[3]
He played over 200 games during his spell with thecapital-based club.
On 27 January 2017, it was announced that Popa agreed to transfer to English teamReading after reaching the final six months of his contract with FCSB.[4] The transfer was made official three days later, with Popa signing with Reading until the summer of 2020.[5]
His first goal came on 17 March 2017, scoring Reading's second in injury time in a 2–0 win overSheffield Wednesday at theHillsborough Stadium.[6]
On 29 January 2018, Reading confirmed that Popa had joined Saudi Arabian sideAl-Taawon on loan until the end of the2017–18 season.[7][8]
On 20 December 2018, Reading announced that Popa had moved toLudogorets Razgrad on loan for the rest of the2018–19 season.[9]
On 16 October 2020, Popa signed a one-year contract withFC Voluntari.[10]
On 22 September 2021, Popa signed a two-year contract with his childhood team,Steaua București.[11]
Popa made his debut for theRomania senior team in October 2012, in a2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match againstNetherlands.[12]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| CS Buftea (loan) | 2008–09 | Liga II | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | ||||
| Gloria Buzău (loan) | 2008–09 | Liga I | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||||
| Universitatea Cluj | 2009–10 | Liga II | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 3 | ||||
| Concordia Chiajna | 2011–12 | Liga II | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 4 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Liga I | 29 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 30 | 4 | |||||
| 2012–13 | Liga I | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 60 | 10 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 61 | 11 | ||||||
| Steaua București | 2012–13 | Liga I | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 11[c] | 1 | — | 43 | 2 | |||
| 2013–14 | Liga I | 28 | 7 | 5 | 0 | — | 11[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 45 | 7 | |||
| 2014–15 | Liga I | 28 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10[f] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | Liga I | 32 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[g] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17 | Liga I | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[h] | 0 | — | 31 | 3 | |||
| Total | 137 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 230 | 28 | |||
| Reading | 2016–17 | EFL Championship | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | EFL Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | EFL Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||||
| Al-Taawoun (loan) | 2017–18 | Saudi Professional League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Ludogorets Razgrad (loan) | 2018–19 | First League | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| FCSB (loan) | 2019–20 | Liga I | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 1[c] | 0 | — | 20 | 3 | |||
| Voluntari | 2020–21 | Liga I | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 2 | ||||
| Academica Clinceni | 2020–21 | Liga I | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 2 | ||||
| CSA Steaua București | 2021–22 | Liga II | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 5 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Liga II | 28 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 29 | 7 | |||||
| Total | 47 | 11 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 49 | 12 | ||||||
| Concordia Chiajna | 2023–24 | Liga II | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| CSA Steaua București | 2023–24 | Liga II | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||||
| 2024–25 | Liga II | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 2 | |||||
| 2025–26 | Liga II | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 39 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 41 | 2 | ||||||
| Career total | 418 | 54 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 49 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 499 | 62 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 4 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 February 2015 | Mardan Sports Complex,Aksu, Turkey | 7 |  Moldova | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 3 June 2016 | Arena Națională,Bucharest, Romania | 14 |  Georgia | 1–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 4 September 2016 | Cluj Arena,Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 17 |  Montenegro | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 8 October 2016 | Vazgen Sargsyan,Yerevan, Armenia | 18 |  Armenia | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
FCSB
Ludogorets Razgrad
 | ||