VIDEO+PHOTO Which ex-footballer owns the hotel where the LPF summoned the heads of League 1 clubs » Buckle-up friend with Gino Iorgulescu, wealth to measure, “father” in real estate
Article by Remus Dinu, Andrei Furnigă (video) – Published Friday, November 14, 2025, 11:27 / Updated Friday, November 14, 2025 11:33
The hotel in Poiana Brasov where LPF organized Thursday's Extraordinary General Assembly it is owned by Aurel Munteanu, former football player at Sportul Studențesc, good friend of Gino Iorgulescu. The two were teammates in Regie in the 70s and 80s, and then their relationship remained undisturbed over the years.
The acting president of the Professional Football League emerged victorious from the confrontation with the Super League clubs, who “domesticated” their grievances and they voted to amend the passage of the statute that would allow Gino Iorgulescu a new candidacy for the leadership of the LPF.
Basically, the representatives of the clubs in the Superliga gave their consent for the unlimited expansion of candidacies for the leadership of the League, the only two clubs that opposed being Craiova University and FC Botoșani.
The meeting that validated that change was held far from Bucharest, at Poiana Brașov, in a luxury establishment owned by one of Gino Iorgulescu's best friends. Aurel “Relu” Munteanu, 70 years old, former defensive midfielder from Șoimii Sibiu, Sportul si Petrolul, ex-football player who went deep into business after retirement, is the man who developed and managed the business “Aurelius Împaratul Romanilor” from Poiana.
Gino called the clubs to the hotel of his friend Relu Munteanu, former footballer
According to zf.ro, “Emperatul Romanilor” is the hotel chain that owns four accommodation units in Romania, the hotel in Poiana being the most famous of them. The business was set up by Aurel Munteanu, currently president of the group's Board of Directors, who meanwhile handed over the reins of the business to his son, Aurel Alexandru Munteanu.
Relu Muntean is a well-known investor in the business area in Romania, managing over time Magazinul Victoria, Halele Unirea, various hotel complexes, as well as hundreds of other commercial spaces that he owned throughout the country, noted forbes.ro several years ago, when it added him to the list of well-known millionaires in Romania.
Hotel Aurelius is located on the shore of Mioriţa lake and was built in 2006.
“One of the richest Siberians”
The hotel in Poiana Brașov, where Gino Iorgulescu negotiated with the representatives of the first league clubs, is the most famous of the four units of the “Emperatul Romanilor” chain. In 2019, for example, the unit recorded a turnover of approximately 4 million euros.
Originally from Sibiu, Aurel Munteanu was considered by the publication Turnul Sfatului as “one of the richest Sibiians”, the press describing him at one point as a close friend of ex-president Klaus Iohannis. According to several sources, his wealth amounts to 250 million euros in 2021.
A “father” of real estate, Aurel Munteanu was in the past also in the entourage of Ilie Năstase and the luxury cream of Romanian tennis. The former footballer organized a Davis Cup match in Sibiu, then surprised when he submitted his candidacy for the head of the Tennis Federation. Even though he did not win the elections, Relu Munteanu was supported by both Nastase and Ion Țiriac.
Former defensive midfielder, Aurel Munteanu wore the Sportului Studențesc jersey between 1974 and 1986, while Gino Iorgulescu played for the “students” between 1975 and 1989. The two were not only former teammates, they also served in the army together, at Caracal.
