New deadline for Milan deal

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There would now appear to be greater clarity around the sale of AC Milan to Sino-Europe Sports (SES) following an agreement worked out on Wednesday between the consortium and Milan President Silvio Berlusconi's holding company Fininvest.

This deal has been difficult to push through and has been ongoing since last August. There have been deadlines and more deadlines and now we have yet another deadline, although this one would appear to be the last. Both sides have indicated that there is a difficulty in transferring funds from China to Italy and that Chinese government bureaucracy is behind the delay.

The investors are backed by Haixia Capital and entrepreneur Yonghong Li. They have already paid €100 million to Berlusconi’s holding company Fininvest. According to a host of international media reports, under the latest agreement they will pay another €100 million deposit by 12th December with the deal to be finalised by 3rd March.

Berlusconi has remained confident throughout that the deal will go through and concedes that the club needs an injection of capital to help Milan regain their place as a leading club in Europe. Speaking to Corriere della Sera he said, “I believe that they will be able to make the necessary investments to bring Milan back to the top, something that I couldn't do anymore".

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