Seeing as how I have time
for one more rant in 2016, I have chosen to raise more questions about our probable
potential possible new ownership. After clearly reading my recent posts
about the
delays and also about their overall
list of failures to date, Yonghong
Li tried to explain a few things to allay our fears. Only it didn’t
work. With every delay, his story changes. That’s not transparency, that’s just
flat out lying. And with Milan’s recent history with potential mystery investors,
I just don’t know if I can Beelieve it
or not.
 |
| It all starts with a handshake |
So many words… where to
begin? Let’s start with my favorite place: the lack of disclosure of who the
investors actually are. First they said “We’re not telling.” Then they said it
again. And again. And again. And when Fininvest asked for a complete list of
names, they instead handed over another €100m to shut Fininvest up. But that
was after they claimed that Berlusconi already knew the names, and was being
kept up to date. So why did Berlusconi ask if he already knew?
Ahh, but now, after only
seven and a half months, they have developed a new excuse: because of the
government authorizations that are now suddenly necessary, they cannot disclose
the names, as they are subject to government approval. If that’s really true,
why didn’t he just say that on May 10th? Or June 25th? Or August 5th? Or
September 10th? Or any of the other 200 days the deal didn’t close on this year
since “exclusive negotiations” began? Or is it that the deal, originally
planned to close within 45 days (with apparent knowledge of these “government
authorizations”) hasn’t closed because the investors are still not actually firmed
up? Just like a certain former suitor of the club?
 |
| Surely shaking hands with two guys is better than one |
My favorite was when some
random news source “leaked” the identities of all of the investors, and even
normally careful journalistic sources went insane saying that the companies
investing in the club were worth €3
trillion!! And yet none of those companies, nor Sino Europe, nor Fininvest,
nor the Chinese investors have confirmed that any of them were involved
whatsoever, let alone any news on their assets. One company claimed to be part
of the group, but again, that has yet to be confirmed by anyone involved in the
deal. So we still don’t know.
And this new “government
authorization” story is rich. I’m not saying it’s not possible, only that the
Suning group bought 70% Inter while the
negotiations with Milan were ongoing (read: at the same time) with
absolutely no problems gaining any kind of government authorizations
whatsoever. I was told that it was because they used a Swiss company,
suspiciously founded after the closing of the deal. But they are listed everywhere
as the majority owner of the club. This after the original story was that Sino Europe Sports couldn’t get the money out of China, but then they did get €200m out without a
hitch, so this new story came about instead.
 |
| I'm no expert, but that looks suspiciously like a Chinese company investing €270m in a foreign company |
Yonghong Li claims that due
to new regulations, they cannot own any part of the club until the
authorizations are received, but why can the Chinese Suning Group then own 70% of
Inter? And how is it that they just announced a new sponsorship deal with them,
too? And if the Suning Group used some kind of loophole at the same time that Sino Europe Sports were negotiating, why
didn’t Sino Europe Sports (even though they weren’t even called that then) do
something similar? Then or in August? Or November? Or by December 13th? To meet the terms of the irrevocable contract? Someone
suggested that Suning is a private company and that the potential investors in
Milan are rumored to have close government ties, but Yonghong Li said that all Chinese companies are subject to
these new regulations. Regulations that, like fairies, appeared after the deals
with the English clubs, but somehow before the Milan deal, even though that
happened at the same time as the Inter deal with Suning. Those aren’t fairies,
people, they sound a lot more like lies.
Good news, though,
Wednesday he proudly announced that next year they will invest €300m in a youth
academy in China to train the young Chinese players. Because that is clearly
what Milan need right now, and goes completely with the vision of the club and
its history. And, of course, it’s not self-serving in any way… oh, wait. To be
fair, they did offer the team a collective €1.5m bonus if they won the
Supercoppa. If that doesn’t require the confidentiality and secrecy of this deal, and of course if it passes the government
regulations that the deal is supposedly subject to, the players may see their
money by say June 5th? Or maybe August 10th? Then that will get pushed back to
November 20th, and then maybe the players can look to get their bonus from
winning this Supercoppa by the time the next Supercoppa is played. Or maybe not
at all.
 |
| I got €200m cash out of this deal so far, I have no problems with anything |
So far, Fininvest is the
only entity to profit from all of this, raising questions about Berlusconi
possibly money laundering. Which I totally get, given his sordid history of all
things criminal, including money laundering. But Yonghong Li was quick to
dismiss those rumors. And well he should have. Berlusconi is a pro at both the
lying and the money laundering. He would never be so naïve or sloppy.
But hey, if this new set
of lies doesn’t pan out, at least, apparently now they have a “plan B.” Or is
that “Plan Bee?” We all know where that “plan” ended up: promote one’s self and
spin a web of lies as long as you can before getting lynched, then get out.
Only Yonghong Li forgot the part about not giving away any cash. So he’s €200m
into this deal, having already lost all other credibility and showing
incompetency and a complete lack of knowledge or consideration of the club and
football in general. Down two transfer windows and crippled by the need to get
approval for every little move, maybe even using the men’s room, Milan are actually worse off now than when
Yonghong Li and his imaginary friends filled Berlusconi’s head with euro signs.
Will the deal ever happen? Will Sino Europe Sports even be capable of bringing
Milan back to the top like they said they want to? Personally, I don’t Beelieve
either fairy tale. But suit yourself: Beelieve it or not.
A very Happy New Year to all who read, and a hope that 2017 brings some closure to all of this.
This post inspired by the music of The
Smiths’ “Miserable Lie”
-->