Article by Alexandru Tomuțiu – Published Monday, January 05, 2026 21:48 / Updated Monday, January 05, 2026 22:34
Andrei Nicolescu, the president of Dinamo, came up with another option in the case of the negotiations held in the summer with Ioan Varga, the owner of CFR Cluj, for the transfer of central defender Matei Ilie (23 years old).
Dinamo had reactivated interest in Matei Ilie behind the scenes, and Ioan Varga had a categorical reaction in the dialogue with GSP.ro.
“In the summer they offered me money for cigarettes, they don't have money to buy! Now they haven't looked for me… I have offers from outside for him. 1.5-2 million euros is the price, let's be clear!”, Ioan Varga told Gazetă.
Andrei Nicolescu contradicts Ioan Varga: “We reached an agreement for Matei Ilie”
Nicolescu said that things were, in fact, different. According to the words of the Dinamo president, the “dogs” would have agreed with Varga in the summer for the transfer of Matei Ilie, but things fell through because of the impresario.
In the case of Matei Ilie, there was no recent discussion, it was just a reaction. In the summer we had reached an agreement, but very late, I think on the last day.
The amount was 450,000 euros, but at that time we did not understand with the player's agent“, said Andrei Nicolescu, on the show “Footbal Show”, from Prima Sport.
Originally from Piatra Neamț and trained at the Ceahlău juniors, Matei Ilie left for Italy when he was only 15 years old, signing with Pro Sesto. Then followed the transfer to Padova, a club that loaned him for a period to Hellas Verona.
His debut at professional level took place in the shirt of Padova, in Serie C, in the 2022-2023 season. Later, he was transferred by CFR Cluj, the team for which he performed in the last 3 seasons.
