After long-time owner Silvio Berlusconi said he had sold the club, AC Milan are set to be the latest top-tier European football team to move into Chinese ownership.

After receiving assurances from the buyers that they would invest significantly to return the club to former glories, the former Italian prime minister and media magnate told local newspapers on Tuesday that he had sold one of Europe’s most successful football clubs.

“Milan has now embarked on this path towards China,” Berlusconi said, though he did not disclose the identity of those behind the purchase.

“I accepted what was offered to me, that does not even take into account the value of the brand. But I demanded the commitment of the new owners, who are a group of leading Chinese companies, some also state-owned, to pay at least €400m over the next two years,” Berlusconi said.

According to media reports, the terms of the agreement are being finalized by the two sides.

In recent times, there has been a rapid growth in Chinese investments in European football and the sale comes amidst this environment.

€270m ($307m) for a 70 per cent stake for Inter Milan was paid by Chinese retail group  Suning Holdings last month.

The next four football World Cups for an undisclosed sum was agreed to be sponsored by billionaire Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group in a deal with Fifa in March. €45m was expended for a 20 per cent holding in Atlético Madrid football club by Wanda last year.

In December, $400m for a 13 per cent stake in Manchester City was paid by a consortium of Chinese investors.

The Chinese state has granted tactic approval for the dealmaking. With the government this year approving a programme that aims to elevate China’s national team to among Asia’s best by 2030, Xi Jinping, China’s president and an avowed football fan, has said he wants to make the country a football powerhouse.

Berlusconi, 78, invested significantly in the club after he had bought AC Milan in 1986 when the club was on the verge of bankruptcy. Arrigo Sacchi, the coach who created a team widely regarded as one of the world’s best and who led the club to multiple trophies including back-to-back European Cup victories in 1989 and 1990 was appointed by Berlusconi the following year.

An end of an era for Italians is marked by the sale of AC Milan. As Matteo Renzi’s ruling centre-left Democratic party and populist groups such as the Five Star Movement and the Northern League make a rise in the political scenario of Italy, the political fortunes of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party have been eclipsed by the rise.

AC Milan had won eight Serie A and five European Champions League titles under Berlusconi’s ownership.

“I have not followed AC Milan as in the past, and now I want to close a 30-year period, including 28 major successes, in the best way and I think it’s important the choice of giving Milan away to somebody who is willing to invest in the club to get it back at the top in Italy and in the world,” he said.

(Adapted from CNBC & The Financial Times)

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