Delayed takeover of AC Milan causing concern

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi is a very colourful character and one who certainly grabs more than his fair share of press headlines. His family have controlled AC Milan football club for many years and he is now in the final throes of selling the club to a Chinese investor. The asking price is €840 million and while deposits totalling €100 million have already been paid the buyer has now asked for an extension. So, should the delayed takeover of AC Milan be causing concern?

Berlusconi in control

Love him or loathe him there is no doubt that Silvio Berlusconi is a very clever businessman who has made the most of his reputation over the years. While he has been looking to offload his AC Milan investment for some time now he’s promised fans that he will only sell to a competent buyer. If the current Chinese buyer was to drop out then he is more than happy to take back control on a day-to-day basis. Indeed one of the provisos to the takeover is that the new owners, Sino-Europe Sports, promised to invest an additional €350 million over the next three years.

Delayed takeover of AC Milan causing concern
Chinese investors moving the football goal posts!

So, while some fans of AC Milan may be concerned that the club has fallen on hard times in recent years Silvio Berlusconi still seems to have the club at heart.

Chinese investors moving football goal posts

Since the creation of the Chinese football league, just a couple of years ago, we have seen massive investment in both players and infrastructure. Indeed former Manchester United favourite Carlos Tevez has just signed a deal worth in excess of £600,000 a week despite the fact he is nearing retirement. There are rumours that Wayne Rooney has been offered £1 million a week and Arsene Wenger a staggering £30 million a year to manage in the Chinese league.

It is common knowledge that the Chinese government is behind much of the investment in Chinese football, attempting to make further headway on the growing popularity of this worldwide sport. In some ways it is difficult to see how this massive investment can reap any rewards in the short to medium term but this has not stopped Chinese investors looking towards European football clubs.

New regulations

There has been talk over the last few weeks of new regulations for the Chinese football league which would curtail this massive ongoing investment. There would be limits on the number of overseas players allowed in each football team as well as the amount of money invested. This makes perfect sense offering the best of both worlds, overseas professional football experience mixed with local talent – which must surely be in abundance across the whole of China?

The Brexit situation may well open some interesting opportunities for Chinese investors looking at UK football clubs with the likes of Liverpool apparently on a Chinese takeaway list. A near 20% fall in the value of sterling passes extremely strong purchasing powers to overseas investors such as those in China. If they are still interested in household UK names such as Liverpool FC then now would probably be the ideal moment to act?

Leave a Reply