Capello: Milan takeover was destiny

Former AC Milan coach Fabio Capello suggests clubs can no longer be successful without foreign investment as a group of Chinese investors prepare to take charge at San Siro and pull the curtain down on Silvio Berlusconi’s title-laden era.

It was announced on Friday that Berlusconi, who has been at the helm for 20 years, approved the preliminary contract concerning the purchase of the club. 

Inter are also under foreign ownership – along with the likes of Premier League champions Leicester City – and Capello believes it is a sign of the times in world football. 

“It was destiny [Milan’s sale to Chinese investors],” Capello told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Today a businessman may have powerful economic means, such as those of Berlusconi or [former Inter owner Massimo] Moratti, but he can’t handle an international club on his own.

“The new reality lies on the resources of Arabic, Chinese and Russian groups.

“Look at the Premier League, where all of the most important clubs, including Leicester City, are owned by foreign companies.”

On Berlusconi’s exit, Capello said: “It is a historic change.

“Silvio Berlusconi was the greatest president in the history of Milan, even his worst enemy can’t argue against his numbers, because nobody has won as much as he did.

“In fact, I propose that he is one of the greatest presidents in the history of world football, he took his team to the top of the world.”