The Milan president, Silvio Berlusconi, has confirmed that he will sell the seven-time European champions to Chinese investors and expects to receive €400m (£338m) over the next two years.
Berlusconi, who bought the club in 1986, has been negotiating for more than a year with various interested parties but is now confident that a deal will now be completed after he was released from hospital on Tuesday after heart surgery.
“I had a period of 26 years which then became 30. My concern is that during the last four years, I have not managed to do things as I did in the past,” he said.
“The choice I am making is an important one. I want to deliver AC Milan to people who can make the club a major force again not only in Italy but in Europe and the world.
“There is a commitment from the new investors to pay €400m over the next two years and I’m selling the club to people who can bring it back to where it belongs.”
Milan, who reported a loss of €93.5m last year, appointed Vincenzo Montella as their new coach last week. They finished seventh in the league last season and will miss out on Europe for a third successive campaign.
Robin Li, the founder of search engine Baidu and rated as China’s sixth-richest man, is believed to be leading the consortium, which will purchase a 70% share in the club.
If completed, they will become the latest group of investors from China to buy a stake in a European club. In December, Manchester City’s holding company City Football Group announced a $400m (£265m) investment from a Chinese consortium, CMC, while property group Dalian Wanda bought a 20% stake in Champions League finalists Atlético Madrid last year.
