Former AC Milan owner Yonghong Li has accused current club president Paolo Scaroni of being underhand in his dealings.
An article on Forbes looks at the role of Scaroni around the period that Yonghong was struggling to pay back the money he owed to buy the club back in 2017.
The news outlet notes how the Chinese businessman enlisted the help of experts to try and fix the problems generated as the Chinese government clamped down on overseas investments into football clubs.
Scaroni was appointed deputy chairman of Rothschild Italia back in 2014, Scaroni notes, and also played a key role in Elliott’s seizing of Milan in 2018.
Scaroni has ‘many separate links to this story’ such as the fact he held a long term position on the board of newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore – as did former Milan CFO Valentina Montanari – with Yonghong having suggested before that his credibility was damaged by a number of leaks.
It also mentioned in the report how Scaroni has known Silvio Berlusconi since 2001 and had dealings with Elliott Management as far back as 2015, while French media company Vivendi had also complained about Scaroni’s roles at both Elliott and Rothschild in their battle with the hedge fund over Telecom Italia.
Yonghong went to Rothschild for help to find a solution and keep control of the club, but they failed to come up with alternative financing.“It was an exasperating time,” Li told Forbes.
“Mr. Scaroni was cordial, well-spoken and seemed to know everyone in Italy, particularly Milan. At the time we trusted him, he was our board member, and now he’s president.
“And like us, I’m not sure Rothschild was fully aware of what Scaroni was up to behind-the-scenes and if he used any inside information for his own benefit, or for the benefit of Elliott.”
“Looking back, it is impossible to ignore Mr. Scaroni’s role in all of this. The conflict of interest could not be more apparent to us.”
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