ITALY’S billionaire former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Tuesday he is ready to sell AC Milan to a Chinese investor as long as 400 million euros (US$446 million) are invested in the struggling Serie A giant over two years.
The 79-year-old media mogul did not name the investor but said it was a “Chinese company with public capital.”
“I demanded the new owners commit to invest at least 400 million euros in AC Milan over the next two years,” he told reporters on his release from hospital after open-heart surgery.
He had initially hoped to keep the fallen seven-time European champion “in Italian hands” but in May the club said Berlusconi’s holding company Fininvest had begun serious negotiations with a Chinese consortium.
Italian media speculated that the buyer could be Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, or real estate group Evergrande Real Estate, which already owns a majority stake in Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande.
Berlusconi bought AC Milan in 1986, saving it from bankruptcy.
“I now want to close this 30-year period, in which we’ve won 28 trophies.
“I believe this final decision is important, to hand Milan over to those able to make it a key player once more in Italy, Europe and the world,” he said.
The sale would represent latest high-profile acquisition by Chinese investors seeking to make waves in the so-called beautiful game. Last month, AC Milan’s city rival Inter Milan was sold to Chinese electronics retail giant Suning, while British club Aston Villa was bought by Chinese technology businessman Tony Xia. Construction giant Wanda Group also owns 20 percent of Spain’s Atletico Madrid.
“Chinese are especially great admirers of Italian clubs,” Qiang Bai, CEO of the Sports International Beijing agency, said. “Many middle-aged Chinese grew up watching Italian clubs on TV.”
China in 2014 outlined a 50-point plan to revitalize the nation’s prowess at soccer. Aside from acquisitions abroad, some of the world’s top soccer stars have begun playing for Chinese teams.(SD-Agencies)
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