AC Milan President
Vows To Accept Chinese Investment
AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi promised that he
will finalise the deal to bring in Chinese investment to the club.
An already
protracted deal was complicated further by Berlusconi having to spend time in
hospital following heart issues.
“It’s an
important decision, I have handed Milan to those who can relaunch the club,”
said Berlusconi to reporters as he left hospital.
“I didn’t
make demands about the price or consider the brand’s value, I demanded that the
Chinese group invest at least €400 million over the next two years.
“This is
an important group of private and state-owned Chinese companies.”
The former
prime minister also admitted that he had not been able to remain as involved
with the club in recent years.
“I wasn’t
able to pay as much attention to the club as I would have liked to thanks to an
absurd sentence [related to the Mondadori publishing house],” added Berlusconi.
“To be
frank, I was worried about other things.
“I would
now like to end 30 years of success in the best way.”
BERLUSCONI: “MILAN HAS THIS JOURNEY TOWARDS CHINA, I DEMANDED €400M TO
BE SPENT OVER THE NEXT 2 YEARS”
Silvio Berlusconi has all but confirmed that
Milan are being handed over to Chinese hands and reveals he asked for
commitments which will obligate the new owners to spend heavily.
After undergoing heart
surgery last month, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was discharged from
the San Raffaele hospital on Tuesday morning.
“The surgery? It was a very, very painful ordeal which I didn’t
expect to be so bad. But now I’m feeling better,” he said.
Berlusconi was also asked
to give an update on the sale negotiations between Silvio’s holding company
Fininvest and the Chinese consortium and he made some very important
statements, practically confirming that he’s all-ready to give up on his red
and black club after 30 years.
“For Milan the situation is very simple – I made a 26-year
journey which later become 30 but my concern over the last four years has been
that I have not been able to take care of it like I did in the past,”
Berlusconi said to the reporters. “Milan has this journey towards China.
“I’d like to close a period of 30 years with plenty of 28 huge
victories also with many second places and fans that increased in number. It’s
an important choice. I’ve delivered Milan to those who are willing to invest
and get Milan back to bring the protagonists in Italy, Europe and the world.
“I renounced to demands on the price, I accepted what was
offered to me without taking into account the value of the brand. I,
however, demanded that there is a commitment that the Chinese group invest at
least €400 million in next two years.”
The preliminary contract
between Berlusconi and the Chinese is expected to take place next week. After
the signatures are made, the identities of the investors will reportedly be
revealed.
Berlusconi’s 10 golden
moments at AC Milan
Silvio
Berlusconi bought AC Milan back in 1986 and as president, led the club to 28
trophies during his time in charge of the club
With Silvio Berlusconi set to sell his beloved AC Milan
to Chinese investors, we looks back at his 10
greatest moments as president.
He prepares
to bow out after 30 largely successful years in charge at the San Siro and
having accumulated almost one trophy per season on average.
But what
were the highlights of a memorable tenure under ‘Il Cavaliere’?
First
Scudetto | May 1, 1988
Dutch
forward Marco van Basten scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory away at Napoli, essentially wrapping up AC Milan‘s first Scudetto under Berlusconi.
Humbling
Real Madrid | April 19, 1989
Arrigo
Sacchi had established AC Milan as one of Europe’s best sides, and they
comfortably demolished Real Madrid 5-0 in the second leg of the European Cup,
thanks to goals from Carlo Ancelotti, Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Marco van
Basten and Roberto Donadoni.
Continental
kings | May 24, 1989
Milan beat a
strong Steaua Bucharest side 4-0 at the Nou Camp in the European Cup final thanks to braces from Ruud Gullit and
Marco van Basten, a victory that secured the side their third European Cup, the
first for 20 years.
World
champions | December 19, 1989
Alberigo
Evani scored the only goal of the game in the 119th minute to secure a 1-0
victory for Milan in the Intercontinental Cup, beating Colombian side Atletico
Nacional. Like the European Cup, this was their first trophy in the competition
for 20 years.
Keeping
their crown | May 25, 1990
Milan
secured back-to-back European Cups with the 1-0 victory over Benfica, thanks to
a goal from Frank Rijkaard. To this day, that Milan side are the last team to
retain the trophy.
Battering
Barcelona | May 18, 1994
The
Rossoneri had reached the European Cup final, now called the Champions League
at this point, but their preparation had been awful. Van Basten was injured,
along with Gianluigi Lentini; Franco Baresi was suspended, as was defender
Alessandro Costacurta; and UEFA would only allow three non-nationals at this
time.
So head
coach Fabio Capello had to leave out Florin Raducioiu, Jean-Pierre Papin and
Brian Laudrup. Nevertheless, they managed to beat Barcelona 4-0 and secured
their fifth European Cup.
A momentous
turnaround | May 23, 1999
Milan turned
around a 10th-placed finish from the season before into a title-winning
campaign the season after with the appointment of Alberto Zaccheroni from Udinese. After Lazio slipped up
in the penultimate game away at Fiorentina, Milan knew
that a victory would secure the Scudetto and they did so by beating Perugia 2-1
away from home.
A sweet
success | May 28, 2003
It had been
nine years since their last triumph in the competition, but Milan secured their
sixth Champions League trophy after beating Juventus 3-2 on penalties at Old
Trafford. Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko scored the decisive penalty for
the Rossoneri.
Rossoneri
revenge | May 23, 2007
After
heartbreak in the final two years earlier, Milan avenged the their defeat by
beating Liverpool 2-1 in Athens after a brace from Italian striker Filippo
Inzaghi.
The last
hurrah | December 16, 2007
In the Club
World Cup, Milan comfortably beat Argentine side Boca Juniors thanks to goals
from Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Nesta and Kaka. This was the last of
Berlusconi’s 13 global trophies.