Saudi billionaire and property developer Fawaz Alhokair is reportedly behind Serie A side AC Milan's "possible Arab takeover." According to Telelombardia, the Arab group in question is the Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Group, which "has interests in property development and commerce." It is "already working on a project in Sesto San Giovanni," an area that has been identified as a "possible location for Milan’s new stadium" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 12/6).
Man City Manager Pep Guardiola denied his club offered Lionel Messi a signing bonus of €100M ($118M) as part of a "huge" deal. Reports in Spanish sports daily Marca claimed that Man City Owner Sheikh Mansour made the offer, "bypassing intermediaries," which also contained a €50M ($59M) annual salary. Guardiola claimed the reports were "not true" (London INDEPENDENT, 12/5).
Bayern Munich opened a football school in Shenzhen, China. Bayern first announced its intention to launch a Chinese school in the Longgang District in July. The grassroots initiative is "designed to focus on youth training in the Asian country." The club will provide free basic-level youth training courses to teachers and coaches participating in the training camp, which will be run by coaches from the club (SOCCEREX, 12/6).
