Interesting piece on the BBC site today about the Milan giants.
The link to us is the ownership. Take a read and think either we are being expanded or moving in with Portsmouth
http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41558125
China questions
Suning have invested - heavily - in the Inter squad but they also have a long-term vision that revolved around redeveloping the San Siro.
Their plan is to reduce the capacity from its current 80,000, the fifth biggest club ground in Europe, to around 55,000 and use the spare space to massively improve the stadium's corporate facilities.
Rossoneri Sport seem to have been more interested in spending money on their team.
However, those with detailed knowledge of Chinese investment in football overseas view Rossoneri, by buying Berlusconi's club, as having delivered on President Xi's demand to either open doors to key decision makers in western Europe or generate greater wealth to be used at home.
It is not thought Suning have fulfilled either demand. Indeed, in August, they were
accused by Chinese state mediaof using their investment in Inter to 'launder' money.
Suning denied this was the case. However, the allegation is being interpreted as the Chinese government sending out a warning that unless Suning start to comply with President Xi's decree, they could find their ability to do business severely curtailed.
Professor Simon Chadwick, a business of sport specialist at the University of Salford and expert in Chinese football affairs, said: "When it comes to football, listen out for who speaks first and look out for what they do.
"What Suning are now expected to be doing is generating a positive financial gain for the Chinese state and demonstrate that it is repatriating those funds. Otherwise, it needs to start connecting into Milan, to major trade and infrastructure projects.
"This is why I think AC Milan is particularly important. If you want to get anything done in Italy, Berlusconi knows who to talk to. Essentially, in buying AC Milan, the Chinese were not just buying a football club. They were buying their way into the economic and political heartland of Italy."
An alternative theory
AC Milan owner Li Yonghong is in charge of a club at the heart of the financial capital of the world's ninth largest economy
It is impossible to imagine Chinese investment in AC or Inter Milan not being subject to some kind of central scrutiny in Beijing.
But instead of wholly separate entities, what if they were - albeit loosely - tied together in some way?
It is interesting to note that whilst Suning were not particularly interested in going through Inter's finances in acute detail when they negotiated their takeover, they were keen on knowing who owned the land that surrounds the San Siro.
Last week, a
statement from the Mayor's office in Milan revealed he had reached an agreement with both clubs that they were willing to invest in stadium redevelopment.
As tends to be the case, details are sketchy and enthusiasm for such plans will always be limited by the fact the stadium, and its surrounding area, is centrally owned. Should that change, the entire area could be transformed.
If Inter and AC, instead of working against each other in their own interests, were able to put on a united front, how much pressure could be exerted on the local government?
Even at the clubs themselves, there is a sense of not being entirely sure why Chinese investment should be so heavy in two famous clubs from the same city, which just happens to be the financial capital of the ninth richest country in the world.
In the short to medium term, major changes are anticipated within Milanese football, and the true nature of China's involvement there will start to become apparent.