Újpest: “We have never been this close” – they could be the new owners

At an indoor football tournament for Újpest fans on Saturday, József Attila Móring, a Fidesz Member of Parliament, said to the public that the sale of Újpest FC could be announced soon, as on Friday the possible new ownership will be discussed with Roderick Duchâtelet, the current owner of the club. The politician, who by his own admission plays an intermediary role between the parties at the request of a possible new ownership group, spoke in detail about the state of the matter at the request of Nemzeti Sport.

"We have never been this close to finally reaching an agreement, but I do not want to count the chickens before they're hatched," József Attila Móring József stated at our request. "A deal always depends on two parties, and Roderick Duchâtelet is not a simple negotiating partner, but I am confident that negotiations will be concluded in December and a new era can begin with the new year in Újpest. I can promise you that the seal will not even dry on the contract, the changes that perhaps not only Újpest fans, but all Hungarian football fans expect will happen. We are not miracle workers, we do not have magic wands, but preparations have already begun in the background, we have those people connected to Újpest, under whose leadership the work will begin."

The Member of Parliament, who has been an Újpest fan since the age of six, explained that the zeroth point of action will be the logo question, then the unification of the youth teams of UTE and Újpest FC and settling the conflict built over the years with the parent association and with the fans.

"We will need a club model that is suitable for Újpest FC to find its way back to the path that makes it perform with tradition. This weekend's indoor tournament showed how worried many are about the club, which is surrounded by a dormant force that may only be at another club in the country. But they probably agree even at Ferencváros that a success achieved against a writhing, sluggish, precarious Újpest is not as valuable as having a purple-white team swell again in NB I, as the league was nothing without Ferencváros in the 2000s after it was disqualified. But I have to ask for the fans' patience because the sales process has to be done carefully to create clean relationships and be able to do great things again by joining dormant forces.”

Recently, various press reports have written that a Far Eastern business group would purchase the club, but according to Nemzeti Sport's sources from Újpest, a Hungarian pair of investors, István Cseke and János Németh, who have interest in several business lines, are negotiating with Roderick Duchâtelet to purchase the club. József Attila Móring responded to our information neither denying nor confirming it.

In September, Roderick Duchâtelet told nb1.hu that he had already verbally agreed to sell Újpest FC to two parties, a foreigner and a Hungarian. In fact, all that was missing to conclude the contract was to make the deposit, because the club had also been screened in the meantime. It is understood that an oral agreement was reached with an American and the indicated Hungarian circle in the spring, but the former has not responded since then. That being said, the latter may be the subject of the aforementioned crucial negotiation this week, at which the details of the transfer can be discussed.

If the sale takes place, the professional management of the club may be taken over by former national team footballers with strong connections to Újpest.

We have also contacted Újpest FC in connection with this case; Managing director Csaba Berta repeated his previous statement that the club does not react to press reports or rumors.

Translated by Vanda Orosz.