--- title: Italian Soccer Club AC Milan Sold to Chinese Investors description: Italian soccer club AC Milan has been sold to a Chinese consortium, says the club’s owner, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi canonical: https://time.com/4394279/china-soccer-ac-milan-football-silvio-berlusconi-sport/ author: Charlie Campbell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-06T04:25:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:03:56.329Z article:section: Sports og:title: Italian Soccer Club AC Milan Sold to Chinese Investors og:description: Milan has "embarked on this path towards China," says owner Silvio Berlusconi og:url: https://time.com/4394279/china-soccer-ac-milan-football-silvio-berlusconi-sport/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Italian Soccer Club AC Milan Sold to Chinese Investors twitter:description: Milan has "embarked on this path towards China," says owner Silvio Berlusconi twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Legendary Italian Soccer Club AC Milan Is Now Chinese-Owned > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Charlie Campbell / Beijing](https://time.com/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell / Beijing Editor at Large Jul 6, 2016 4:25 AM UTC  by [Charlie Campbell / Beijing](https://time.com/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell / Beijing Editor at Large Jul 6, 2016 4:25 AM UTC Storied Italian soccer club AC Milan has been [sold](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12403119) to a Chinese consortium, says the club’s owner, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi, who served four terms as Prime Minister but was later [convicted](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/15/silvio-berlusconi-community-service-sentence-tax-fraud) of tax fraud and bribery, told an Italian newspaper Tuesday that the deal would bring in around $830 million after the club’s debt had been settled, [reports](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36721010) the BBC. “Milan has now embarked on this path towards China,” Berlusconi said in a video posted on the website of _La Gazzetta dello Sport_, according to a [translation](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-05/ac-milan-sale-close-after-berlusconi-reveals-deal-with-chinese) provided by Bloomberg. “It’s an important decision to give AC Milan to someone able to make it be a protagonist in Italy, Europe and globally.” However, the 79-year-old did not disclose the identity of the buyers, leading to speculation the deal for the Rossoneri — the world’s third most successful club with 14 European and four world trophies — had still to be finalized. Robin Li, head of Chinese search engine Baidu, and Jack Ma, founder of online marketplace Alibaba, are thought the most likely candidates. The sale would represent the latest high-profile acquisition by Chinese investors seeking to make waves in the so-called beautiful game. Last month, AC Milan’s city rival Internazionale was [sold](http://time.com/4357948/china-retail-giant-suning-italy-soccer-club-inter-milan-football/?iid=sr-link1) to Chinese electronics retail giant Suning, while British club Aston Villa was bought by Chinese technology businessman Tony Xia. Construction giant Wanda Group also owns 20% of Spain’s Atlético Madrid. “Chinese are especially great admirers of Italian clubs,” Qiang Bai, CEO of the Sports International Beijing agency, tells TIME. “Many middle-aged Chinese grew up watching Italian clubs on TV.” Chinese President Xi Jinping is a self-professed soccer fan and in 2014 [outlined](http://time.com/4284800/chinas-soccer-pitch/) a 50-point plan to revitalize the nation’s prowess at soccer. 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