Are the Chinese losing interest in Inter? Skriniar’s team could be changing owners

The top management of the Chinese conglomerate Suning is reportedly considering selling its luxury sports asset. Last year, Inter Milan generated nearly 300 million euros in revenue.

Although the club may soon end its 11-year wait for a domestic league title on the field, an even bigger story for the entire Inter Milan organization could be a change in majority ownership this summer. The club from San Siro Stadium—with a squad valued at 607.3 million euros and Slovak defender Milan Skriniar as a key part of its defense—could be changing hands again after five years.

Are the Chinese losing interest in Inter? Skriniar’s team could be changing owners

Speculation about a potential sale of the brand—estimated by consulting firm KPMG to be worth 983 million euros—was sparked by recent statements from Jindong Zhang, president of the Chinese conglomerate Suning. A few days ago, the experienced businessman informed shareholders that the powerful retail group should primarily focus on its core business.
“We will fully concentrate on retail sales, and we will not hesitate to cut any activities irrelevant to the core of our business,” stated Zhang firmly. His son, Steven, is currently the president of Inter Milan. Just how important—or irrelevant—the Italian football giant is to the future direction of the holding company will become clearer in the coming months. Suning, which purchased a majority stake in the 18-time Italian champion in June 2016 for 306 million euros, might now sell Inter as freshly crowned Serie A champions. The "Nerazzurri" have finally found their identity and are serious title contenders.

“A potential sale of Inter wouldn’t be a total shock or surprise. On the other hand, not much concrete information has surfaced so far. But it’s noticeable that the trend of Chinese capital buying foreign clubs has slowed down recently,” sports analyst Jozef Tokos told the Economic Daily.

If Inter is indeed sold, it would mark the third change in majority ownership since 2013. In November of that year, the 18-year reign of owner Massimo Moratti came to an end. “Mr. Moratti used to visit our training center in Appiano Gentile occasionally. He made a solid and serious impression. He wasn’t eccentric or anything, not unlike other owners I’ve encountered at clubs,” said Czech midfielder Milan Jirásek, who played for Inter's youth team between 2008 and 2011, in a statement to the Economic Daily. Moratti sold the club to Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir, who, after just two and a half years, sold Inter to Suning. The Chinese firm viewed the acquisition of Inter as a valuable PR tool—a kind of bridge between East and West, or between Chinese and European markets.

According to Tokos, elite clubs like Inter will always be attractive to potential buyers. “Inter has long been among the top 15 richest clubs in the world, and it's one of the few for which a sale is even considered. There aren’t many top-tier clubs on the market. However, if real negotiations were to take place, a lot of factors come into play,” the analyst noted.

Furthermore, expanding "soft" geopolitical influence through sports organizations is no longer a priority even for the Chinese government itself. That’s another reason why a theoretical transfer of ownership wouldn’t come as a bolt from the blue. (...)