Early career and Viitorul Constanța Cicâldău was raised in
Satu Nou, a village near
Medgidia,
Constanța County, and started practising football at the age of eight. After initially playing at Marcon Star Medgidia, he joined the
Gheorghe Hagi Academy, which served as the youth setup of
Viitorul Constanța. Cicâldău made his debut in the
first division for Viitorul on 31 March 2016, aged 18, in a 1–1 away draw at
ASA Târgu Mureș. He became a regular starter for the club in the
2017–18 season, amassing 38 appearances and one goal in all competitions.
Universitatea Craiova On 6 July 2018, Cicâldău agreed to a four-year contract with
Universitatea Craiova, being assigned the
number 10 shirt. Press reported the fee at figures between €750,000 and €1 million plus interest. He made his first appearance for "the White-Blues" eight days later, playing the full match as
CFR Cluj won 1–0 in the
Supercupa României. Cicâldău netted his first goal in a 3–0 league win over
Astra Giurgiu, on 26 October. On 31 March 2019, he scored a
header in a 2–3 away loss to title contenders
FCSB. He recorded his first goal in
European competitions on 18 July that year, opening a 3–2 home victory over
Sabail in the second leg of the
UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. After prolonged speculation regarding offers from foreign teams, in September he signed a contract extension which would have run until 2025. On 31 January 2020, in the opening game of the calendar year, Cicâldau scored twice before half-time in a 3–1 defeat of
Gaz Metan Mediaș; the second goal came from a
free kick and the double was the first in his professional career. On 28 June, he scored the winner in a 3–2 away victory over two-time defending champions CFR Cluj, and two fixtures later converted a
penalty in a 2–1 win against FCSB. Cicâldau ended the
Liga I season with 14 goals, as Craiova lost the league title to CFR in the last home game. During the
2020–21 season, Cicâldau amassed 12 goals from 42 appearances in all competitions, and won his first
national cup after a 3–2 victory over Astra Giurgiu in the
final. On 10 July 2021, he started in the 4–2
penalty shoot-out win over CFR Cluj in the subsequent
Supercupa României.
Galatasaray in 2021 On 24 July 2021, Cicâldău joined Turkish club
Galatasaray on a five-year deal in a transfer worth €6.5 million plus €2 million in bonuses. He made his debut on 16 August, in a 2–0
Süper Lig defeat of
Giresunspor in which he converted a penalty. On 16 September, he played his first European match for the team in a 1–0 home victory over
Lazio in the Europa League
group stage. On 25 October 2021, Cicâldău opened the scoring in a 1–2
derby loss to reigning champions
Beşiktaş at
Vodafone Park. One month later, he netted and provoked an
own goal in the first half of a 4–2 Europa League defeat of
Marseille. On 17 March 2022, he
assisted Galatasaray's only goal in a 1–2 loss to
Barcelona in the
round of 16 of the same competition.
Loans On 27 August 2022, Cicâldău was loaned out to the Emirati club
Ittihad Kelba for one
season. On 1 August 2023, he was loaned out again to fellow Süper Lig side
Konyaspor.
Return to Universitatea Craiova match against
İstanbul Başakşehir, August 2025 Towards the end of the 2024 summer
transfer window, after a €3.5 million move to
Belgian Pro League club
Westerlo fell through, it was reported that Galatasaray would loan Cicâldău back to his home country at
Petrolul Ploiești. On 9 September, Universitatea Craiova hijacked the deal and re-signed him on a permanent basis for a rumoured fee of €1.5 million. In late August 2025, Cicâldău helped Universitatea Craiova qualify for the
league phase of a European competition for the first time, scoring in both legs of a 5–2 aggregate win over
İstanbul Başakşehir in the
Conference League play-off round. ==International career==