Stand-out Ferencváros talent Barnabás Varga is already in Athens, Greece to attend the routine physical examination and sign his new contract with 13-time Greek champions and current league leaders AEK Athens.
Varga scored five goals in five games in Hungary’s ill-fated FIFA World Cup qualification campaign in the fall of 2025. In the UEFA Europa League, his tally stands at four goals in six games for his—soon-to-be former—team Ferencváros in the league phase. The 31-year-old striker is a true aerial specialist, scoring three out of five of his goals in the World Cup qualifiers and three out of four of his goals in the Europa League with headers. In addition, he has also netted 10 goals in 17 games for Fradi in their domestic league this season.
According to reports in both the Hungarian and Greek sports media, AEK is willing to pay Ferencváros €4.5 million for Varga’s transfer, and is offering a 3.5-year contract with an around €1 million annual salary. Both the transfer fee and the contract length are unusually high for a player over 30.
AEK Athens are currently coached by Serbian Marko Nikolić, who has spent two seasons in the Hungarian league as head coach for FC Fehérvár between 2017 and 2019.
The Greek Super League is ranked higher than Hungary’s top flight in the UEFA coefficient standings, with Greece currently placed 12th compared to Hungary’s 23rd. Thus, Varga’s move from a domestic title contender in Hungary to one in Greece represents a clear step up in his career. The strength of the Greek league was further underlined recently when Olympiacos FC won the UEFA Conference League in 2024. Olympiacos currently sit just one point behind AEK Athens in the domestic standings.
Barnabás Varga has won the Hungarian championship title with Ferencváros twice, in 2024 and 2025. He has also won the Golden Boot in the league in back-to-back years, first with Paks in 2023, then with Ferencváros in 2024. On the national team level, Varga has made 28 appearances for Hungary, scoring 13 goals thus far. He has represented his country at the 2024 European Championship.
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