A Swiss-Australian duo of investors is reportedly interested in buying a 30 per cent stake in AC Milan.
The news came through at the same time that the Rossoneri director Umberto Gandini said that UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules have been a success in reducing losses at clubs across Europe, but at the expense of new investment.
According to Lebanese newspaper Al-Hayat, two investors are interested in purchasing a stake in the club.
The first is a Swiss of Lebanese origins, Fahd Merebi, who is an executive director at Zurich Capital.
The second was named in Arabic as Shuham Morgan who is an Australian fund manager for Easycap.
The duo reportedly contacted Milan directly during the Italian side’s trip to Dubai when they beat Real Madrid 4-2 in a friendly to make an initial offer for 30 per cent before discussing the possibility of purchasing a majority stake.
However, despite the promise of a big fee for a stake in the club, the current ownership expressed reservations about the proposal and insisted that reassurances are made that any potential new owners guarantee to commit to make a minimum level of investment to improve the team.
A figure of €500 million has been touted as a possible value for a takeover at Milan.
Rossoneri director Umberto Gandini also spoke in Dubai about the impact of Financial Fair Play.
“Financial Fair Play brought some good sense to how football clubs are run in Europe,” said Gandini at a press conference.
“It’s been a success in eradicating the complicated system of financial losses in European football.”
“On the other hand, it has to be considered that some clubs have become frozen, there are investors who want to join the game but they’re scared off by this system.”
“In Europe there are only four or five great clubs at the moment, what UEFA should aim for is to have at least 20 great clubs.”
