How Chinese money chases European sports

Editor's note:

When a Chinese consortium agreed to acquire Italian Serie A powerhouse AC Milan in August, many thought it was the end of an era. Nonetheless, it was just the beginning. The deal unleashed Chinese investment's new round of chasing after European clubs. Meanwhile it was a year of more than buying sprees. Chinese companies, eagerly seeking recognition in European sports that is traditionally the turf of Russian oligarchs and Arab emirates, made strides in sponsorship deals. We predict no less momentum in the coming year. While we look back at headline-making deals in 2016, the question is, however, can monetary enthusiasm lead Chinese soccer to success?

The AC Milan odyssey

If you ask a veteran Chinese soccer fan, especially in his or her 40s, to name the must-see derby, chance is the answer would be the Milan derby, the once much-anticipated city rivalry between AC Milan and Inter Milan.

Chinese love AC Milan so much that there's a saying – you never hate AC Milan because you don't know how to, unless you are an Inter fan.

Inter Milan Marco Materazzi, left, and AC Milan Rui Costa look on as the match was stopped to clean up flares thrown by Inter fans during their Champions League quarterfinal second leg match at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, April 12, 2005. AC Milan won 1-0 in a match that was suspended early due to fan violence. [Photo/IC]

If you ask Rossoneri followers to pick up the best club moment, the answers would vary so much that millennials raised in the age of Messi-Ronaldo duopoly can get a hint of what they have missed out on. It can either be Marco Materazzi and Rui Costa, then rivals, together looking on idly when the game was stopped by flares thrown by Inter Milan fans, a young, healthy and robust Kaka, or former captain Paolo Maldini's clever tackle.

All those were in the past. Today the No 1 derby, as well as getting the most public attention, has moved to Spain, thanks to El Clasico, the sizzling, historically acrimonious, star-studded face-offs between Messi-led Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo-led Real Madrid.

Kaka and Filippo Inzaghi of AC Milan celebrate during the Serie A match between Milan and Inter at the Stadio San Siro in Milan, Italy in this May 4, 2008 file photo. [Photo/VCG]

Silvo Berlusconi, who once chanted the famous slogan "Forza Milan", agreed to sell the club, together with its outdated glory, to a lesser-known group of Chinese investors in the name of Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing in August for 740 million euros including debt.

Following the agreement was month-long uncertainty over the deal as buyers failed to get authorization for the deal from local authorities.

The latest update is that Berlusconi's Fininvest SpA company agreed to delay the closing until as late as the end of February in exchange of an additional, non-refundable deposit of 100 million euros ($107 million).