AC Milan takeover mess casts a cloud over Serie A campaign
The takeover of AC Milan has been nothing short of a mess. Over a year ago, the Rossoneri were said to have struck a deal with Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol but eventually that fell through and owner Silvio Berlusconi looked elsewhere.
Fast forward 12 months, and supporters have now been told that the Sino Europe Sports group have delayed their takeover, initially scheduled for the summer and then Dec.13, to March 3 next year due to a delay in releasing and transferring the funds from China.
As part of the agreement to shelve the completion of the takeover rather than break talks off entirely, the Chinese consortium will pay a further 8364;100 million deposit and will consult with the club to make shared decisions in January.
Any off the pitch distraction at a club is always unwanted, but particularly at this stage with the Rossoneri doing so well in Serie A, it isn't likely to be the January transfer market that many had envisaged.
At a time when coach Vincenzo Montella has exceeded expectations by leading his side to third place in the table heading into the Christmas period and winter break, he would have been keen on strengthening in the New Year in order to sustain their momentum.