Extensiv Craiova Rădoi started to play football at the age of eight, first as a goalkeeper and then as a defender. He started his youth career at
Turnu Severin and there he was spotted by
Sorin Cârțu, the coach of
Extensiv Craiova, who was so impressed by him that he purchased Rădoi in 1999, financing the transfer with his own money. Rădoi made his professional debut in
Divizia A in a defeat against
Dinamo București on 4 March 2000.
Steaua București in 2007. Just one year later, in the summer of 2000, Rădoi joined
Steaua București for a fee of €110,000. Describing his first day at Steaua, he said, "It was like a positive shock for me. Suddenly I was in the same place with players like
Iulian Miu,
Marius Baciu and
Miodrag Belodedici, players I saw on TV. It was like a dream." His coach at Steaua was
Victor Pițurcă, the former
Romania national team coach, who promoted him to the Steaua first team. He then became one of Steaua's most important players. In his first match for the club, a 4–3 victory over
FCM Bacău at the
Ghencea football stadium, Rădoi scored the equalizer in the ninth minute after
Cătălin Cursaru had opened the scoring for Bacău less than a minute before. Steaua went on to win the Romanian league championship that year, as well as the
Supercupa României against rivals Dinamo. In 2005, Rădoi won his second league title with the club, followed by a third in 2006. On 24 February 2005, he helped Steaua defeat defending champions
Valencia in the
UEFA Cup. In 2006, Rădoi captained the team in the UEFA Cup
semi-finals against
Middlesbrough, which Steaua lost 4–3 on aggregate. In the summer of 2006, a rumour circulated that Rădoi would sign for
Premier League club
Portsmouth as soon as the transfer window opened in England, with the transfer fee estimated at
£11 million. The transfer did not materialize, however, and many speculated that the £11 million offer was no more than a ploy to jack up the player's potential transfer value before a move elsewhere. In the end,
Steaua's owner
Gigi Becali stated that he would not be selling Rădoi after all. Rădoi was linked with a move to
Inter Milan in October 2008, after manager
José Mourinho expressed interest in signing him. Mourinho travelled to
Bucharest to meet the player and discuss the potential transfer. However, negotiations collapsed after Steaua owner Gigi Becali demanded a transfer fee of approximately €12–12.5 million, significantly higher than Inter's reported offer of around €7 million.
Later career in the Middle East in December 2009 In January 2009, Rădoi signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabian club
Al-Hilal which earned him
€1.4 million annually. The transfer fee
Steaua București received was in the region of €6 million. Rădoi made his debut for Al-Hilal in the local derby against
Al-Nassr, which Al-Hilal won 2–0 with Rădoi scoring the second goal. In his sixth match with the club, he won the Prince's Cup, defeating
Al-Shabab in the final. Nicknamed "The Warrior" by Al-Hilal fans, he was voted
Saudi Professional League Player of the Year in 2010. Rădoi spent three years at the club, serving as captain and helping the team win two consecutive league titles. In June 2011, Rădoi signed with
UAE Pro League club
Al-Ain for a reported fee of €4.2 million. He agreed to a two-year contract worth €2.5 million per year. In April 2013, he extended his contract by one year, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2014. During his three seasons at Al-Ain, he won several domestic honours, including two consecutive league titles, as well as the
UAE President's Cup in 2013–14 and the
UAE Super Cup in 2012. In July 2014, Rădoi signed a two-year contract with
Al-Ahli Dubai of the UAE Arabian Gulf League, reuniting with manager
Cosmin Olăroiu. He made seven league appearances during the
2014–15 season. In early 2015, he joined
Al-Arabi in the
Qatar Stars League. He made six league appearances before announcing his retirement from professional football later that year. ==International career==