Skip to main content

AC Milan's finances continue to cause concern

As they prepare to face Arsenal on Thursday, AC Milan's finances continue to cause concern. Uefa are far from happy with the financial stability of the Chinese consortium that acquired the club from former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi: Murky finances

Perhaps even more significant, alarm bells are ringing in China. The Chinese authorities do not want their country to suffer any reputational damage from profligate spending overseas.

The South China Morning Post has commented: 'AC Milan are owned by Li Yonghong, whose Rossoneri Sports Holdings took over in April last year in a convoluted deal worth US$860 million. Li has been reported to be bankrupt – which he dismissed as "fake news" in his Chinese New Year message to Milan fans – and Italian newspaper Corriere della Sere has said that the club risks being sold on Chinese e-commerce site Taobao.

That is unlikely to happen even if Li’s finances are as dire as feared. Instead the club will likely go under the control of the US hedge fund Li borrowed from to get the deal over the line. Nevertheless, something is clearly rotten and Li with his fake news and dodgy bank balance is not far away from wearing a "Make Milan Great Again" baseball cap.'

The whole Chinese economy is structured around debt in a way that would not be acceptable in the west. This is not a problem as long as tycoons follow the party line. Party control is being tightened under President Xi Jinping who places a greater emphasis on ideology than his predecessors. He has consolidated his hold on power and looks to be the longest serving Chinese leader since Mao. Frivolous investments in overseas football clubs that attract bad publicity are frowned upon.

A further complication is the political crisis in Italy itself where there are no feasible permutations for a coalition government. Silvio Berlusconi did not revive his political fortunes in the way that he hoped and an unstable minority government might well be the outcome.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

A poor financial record, but new hope at Everton

I recently saw an amusing video online in which a group of Everton fans were rebuked in jest for being hopeful.  Football fans in general tend to swing between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, but for many it seems that moaning is in their bloodstream (Spurs fans probably take the trophy).  However, Everton fans have had plenty to moan about on and off the pitch.   Let’s hope that a new era is about to begin for this grand old club. Everton’s 2023/24 financial results covered a fairly momentous season, when they ended up 15th in the Premier League, though they would finished three places higher if they had not received an 8-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). It was a worrying time for Everton fans, as the club faced a “perfect storm” of issues, including large financial losses, an ever increasing debt burden, a challenging stadium build and the tortuous sale of the club. There were eve...
Post a Comment
Read more