AC. Milan, Italian football club, is in economic trouble and its owner, the Chinese magnate Yonghong Li, thought to solve the crisis of the Rossoneri with cryptocurrencies. However, his attempt was unsuccessful due to Li's delicate financial situation.
The Chinese businessman, in view of acquiring the Italian club, received a loan from the North American fund Elliot for a total of 303 million euros. The return of this debt, plus approximately 37 million euros in interest, should be made before October of this year and the Chinese entrepreneur does not show signs of having that money.
It is precisely at this point that Li intended to use cryptocurrencies. The businessman, urged to pay Elliot, decided to try to refinance his debt through bitcoins through a specialized agency. But unfortunately for him, the few guarantees he offered and the short time available were enough for Li's strategy to be rejected by the firm.
The majority shareholder of A.C. Milan has been under scrutiny since the Shenzhen Court certified that the Shenzhen Jie Ande company - through which it bought the club - is bankrupt. So his beaten financial credibility now puts at risk this club, highly recognized at European level.
Between 19 and 20 April, UEFA will examine the Italian club's accounts to determine if there are sanctions against the institution, which could be left without playing European competitions next year. In addition, according to local media reports, the Elliot fund could keep the club and resell it to the highest bidder, if the interest on the loan of its purchase is not paid on time. For his part, the Belgian Yves Laterme, chairman of the UEFA Fair Play commission, will be responsible for deciding the future of the club.
The relationship between football and cryptoactives has been proliferating lately. A few days ago, the ex-leader of the English football team and the Spanish club Real Madrid, Michael Owen, announced his alliance with the Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX) for the creation of his own token, the OWN. Others who have joined this wave of cryptoactives and football have been Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos, who joined the Sportyfi project, while Lionel Messi joined Sirin Labs.