In recent days, tweets from an account with the handle @YonghongLi69 have been circulating around, with many assuming them to be fake.
Yonghong Li bought the club from Silvio Berlusconi two years ago using loans, but he defaulted on the repayment of those and as such Elliott Management seized control.
Over the last couple of days, a string of messages were fired out from the account purporting to belong to Milan’s former owner Yonghong Li, though most presumed it was a hoax from a supporters.
This was based on the fact that the businessman was not familiar with the English language during his time at Milan, in addition to his media silence since leaving the club a year ago.
The account in question posted a thread which reads as follows…
“I’m a lifelong fan of my beloved Rossoneri and their future matters to me today as much as it ever did. I’m so sad at the way things are going now. If there’s any way I can still help, I will. I want to talk and to listen.
“But I really don’t speak English or Italian too well, so I’ve had to stay out of Twitter up to now. But some English-speaking friends are helping translate for me.
“So here I am! I’ll be tweeting here from now on, with my thoughts about football, and in particular, anything involving the Rossoneri.
“You may wonder why someone born in China fell in love with an Italian club. But lots of us did. Italian football was the first international football to be broadcast on TV in China.
“And the most magical, most legendary Italian club of all was AC Milan. I was a fan from the day I could kick a football.
“When I had the opportunity to invest, and to put my financial support behind [the] Rossoneri, I was so happy to do so, not as a venture capitalist looking for a quick profit, but as a real fan in a position to help the club I loved.
“I had clear plans for the future. But plans were dismantled, and I was suddenly no longer the owner of my beloved #ACMilan.
“I have not walked away. If I have the opportunity to help again, then certainly I will. Meanwhile, let’s talk together!”
According to the reliable MilanNews.it, confirmation has arrived from one of Yonghong Li’s daughters that the account really does belong to him.
A fascinating – albeit bizarre – twist…
(1/8) I’m a lifelong fan of my beloved #Rossoneri (@acmilan), and their future matters to me today as much as it ever did. I’m so sad at the way things are going now. If there’s any way I can still help, I will. I want to talk and to listen. 🔴⚫#ACMILAN
— Yonghong Li (@YonghongLi69) November 19, 2019
