In 1921, he moved to Gloria Arad, where, aged 17, made his first senior appearance.
In 1927, only nineteen years old, Barbu made his debut for Romania national team, in a 3–3 draw against Poland.
His last match for the national team was in the same year, when Romania lost to Bulgaria.
In 1933 he moved at Rapid București where he won three times the Romanian Cup (1934–1935, 1935–1936, 1937–1938) and was also the top scorer of Liga I in 1935–1936 with 23 goals.
In 1957 he was appointed as the president of CFR, a football club based in Arad.