Only one year at the helm of Milan, without leaving a mark and, in fact, raising many doubts about the nature of the operation that in the spring of 2017 ended Silvio Berlusconi’s more than thirty-year era. Yonghong Li, owner of the Rossoneri until summer 2018, when the Elliott fund decided to enforce the collateral for an unpaid loan and took control of the majority stake, returns to the headlines, now in an even more negative light.
According to Calcio e Finanza, the Chinese businessman must appear in court next January, after Hong Kong judges established bankruptcy proceedings for his companies. Involved for years in lawsuits with creditors demanding repayment of loans totaling 250 million euros granted to the former Milan president, Yonghong Li will answer for the failure of his business and will face liquidation proceedings.
At the center is the holding company Rossoneri Advance Co. Limited, used at the time of Milan’s acquisition by Yonghong Li as an offshore vehicle to control the club, while incurring large debts, not only with the Elliott fund but also with other financiers, who last July had their claims recognized as legitimate by the Hong Kong Court. The judges rejected Li’s arguments, deeming them unfounded.
Yonghong Li completed the purchase of Milan’s majority stake on April 13, 2017, for a total value of 520 million euros. The negotiation began in August 2016 and was complicated from the start: after paying three deposits totaling 250 million euros, problems arose when Li requested a 303 million euro loan from Elliott to pay Fininvest, the Berlusconi family company. He attempted to repay in installments, but the payments stopped abruptly on July 10, 2018, when Elliott declared him insolvent and removed him as owner and president, taking control of the club.
