AC Milan CEO Marco Fassone has confirmed that UEFA have made a series of “impossible” requests regarding the financial situation of the club.
The Rossoneri were taken over in April by a Chinese group, however the conglomerate – led by Yonghong Li – needed a US hedge fund to complete the deal.
If those debts are not repaid by October next year they can take the club over, something which has apparently caused UEFA to reject Milan’s proposals for a Financial Fair Play settlement.
“It’s important to remember that we are trying to make a voluntary agreement to avoid sanctions, because it is impossible to satisfy UEFA’s requests,” Fassone confirmed on Radio Uno this morning.
“There are a couple of requests which are impossible to comply with. The first is to settle the debt before the voluntary agreement, and the second relates to bank guarantees.
“That attitude should worry new shareholders, but we hope UEFA can listen to our voluntary agreement. If they don’t, those who come after us will know that the road is impervious.
“We remain optimistic though, as we wait for the answer.
“If it’s rejected, we would fall into the category of clubs which don’t comply with the rules, with sanctions and sporting restrictions to be respected in the subsequent years.”
Fassone was then asked about the possibility of selling top players if the Rossoneri don’t reach the Champions League this season.
“That wouldn’t come about because of these agreements. If Milan doesn’t achieve the expected revenues, which also come from the Champions League, then we’d have to review some market strategies.
“Qualification for the Europa League means a reduction of €30m on the balance sheet, so that means €30m less for the transfer market. In that case, we could also decide sell a player to increase the transfer budget.
“As far as I can tell, after the talks with the owners, the project of Li and his Chinese group is a very long-term one.
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“It could be that in the future, with the regulations of the Chinese government, new partners will come in, but I don’t see particular clouds on the horizon for the club.
“I’ve read so many disturbing things, but the company has a €120m debt, which is relatively low, and we want to settle it by the spring.
“There’s no particular tension, and if we’d had better results there would be more smiles than there have been up to now.”
