AC Milan’s Chinese owner Yonghong Li is apparently looking to bring in another investor to share the financial burden at the club, just six months after taking over.
The Chinese man who’s also the owner of Sino-Europe Sports, bought the sleeping giants of European football back in April off of Silvio Berlusconi as part of consortium for €740m – the biggest Chinese investment in a European football club ever.
However, since then, Yonghong Li’s partners have backed out of the deal as a result of Beijing’s crackdown on foreign acquisitions, leaving Li as the sole investor in the club.
Despite his status as a wealthy individual, the Chinese business tycoon prefer to share the financial risk and is looking to bring other investors, according to sources as reported by Reuters.
AC Milan posted losses of €75m in 2016, and the club spent €230m on new players in the summer, which placed the San Siro giants third in the top spenders charts behind Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
Other Chinese investors could come to the forefront if Beijing softens its stance over foreign investment, and there is also a possibility of a Chinese market listing, according to a couple of sources.
The Rossoneri’s influx of new players have done little to impress so far – a bright start has quickly been tarnished thanks to back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Sampdoria and Roma in Serie A.
Vincenzo Montella’s side were also crushed 4-1 by Lazio a few weeks ago, and the club lie seventh in the table after seven games and don’t look likely to challenge for the title this season based of their performances so far.