AC Milan VP Paolo Berlusconi said that the sale of the club to Chinese investors "will go through by March 3, rejecting claims there are problems with the deal," according to Ben Gladwell of ESPN.com. The Sino-Europe Group, leading a consortium of investors preparing to acquire Silvio Berlusconi's majority share in the club, was due to finalize a takeover last year, "but the completion of the deal has twice been delayed." March 3 is the new deadline for the final funds to be transferred and Paolo -- Silvio's brother -- said that there is "no problem at all in the procedure which will see the club change hands after 30 years in his family's ownership." Paolo Berlusconi said, "They have already paid us €200 million ($214.5M), and the Chinese look very relaxed about it all to me. There are no black clouds on the horizon. I don't think there is anybody who, after spending €200 million, suddenly turns round and says, 'Sorry, we made a mistake.' Maybe somebody is hoping that will happen, considering that Milan could now have become even more interesting to investors with the new youngsters coming through, but I've never seen anybody give you €200 million and then pull out" (ESPN.com, 1/24).
