New Chinese conglomerate for Milan

By Football Italia staff

A new Chinese bidder, working with agent Jorge Mendes, shocks Milan by stepping in to steal the club out of Sonny Wu's hands.

The Rossoneri seemed on the verge of selling full ownership of the team to a conglomerate led by Wu and his American broker Sal Galatioto.

It was meant to be the end of a saga that has been going on for more than a year now, with president Silvio Berlusconi repeatedly cancelling or delaying the sale.

In a shocking turn of events, a new business party has emerged out of the blue. According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, a Shanghai-based group called Fosun has been in contact with the club and are looking to make an offer.

They are affiliated to a company called Gestifute, owned by prominent agent Jorde Mendes. The Portuguese has some experience in this field, as he completed last week the acquisition of Wolverhampton on behalf of the Chinese magnate Guo Guangchang.

It appears that Mendes has been after Milan for some time, as it is revealed now that he'd already been in touch in the spring to offer €550m to buy the club. His first contacts to get in on the deal took place no less than two years ago, when he tried to set up a sale to businessman Peter Lim for €300m, but was turned down.

Milan are now considering this new offer, not least because Sonny Wu's group has been delaying the operation repeatedly. This has had the effect of paralysing the club on the market, while Fosun apparently guarantees immediate mobility by providing funds for transfers as well as Mendes' assistance and influence.

Sonny Wu and Galatioto had an exclusivity on the buying of Milan, but that is believed to have expired at the end of the month of July, meaning Berlusconi is now free to negotiate with other parties.

The current deal with Wu involves a payment of €500m to buy the club, along with the relieving of the Rossoneri's €240m debt. The financial details of the offer by Fosun are unknown yet, though one expects them to match Wu's offer at least.

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