Inter president Steven Zhang is well on course to securing the loan deal required to sort the club’s short-term financial problems, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Corriere dello Sport’s print edition said Zhang was about to finalise an agreement worth €270 million with either Bain Capital or Oaktree.
Suning could use this money to buy out LionRock Capital’s minority stake in the club, or they could wait to find a new partner who takes on the 31% shares.
In any case, Inter will not increase their overall debt with this deal because the money will be sent directly to the club.
Inter will need to sell at least one big player this summer in order to balance their books, the report warned, while they will also have to reduce their wage bill.
Zhang will discuss this issue and contract extensions for Antonio Conte and Beppe Marotta when he meets the club’s directors in the coming weeks.
Zhang returned to Milan after six months yesterday and has plenty of tasks on his to-do list after so long away.
He could potentially meet Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala to try and resolve the impasse around Inter and AC Milan’s new stadium project, but he will also need to make progress on Inter’s hunt for a new main shirt sponsor.
Inter may need to settle for a lower fee than they had initially wanted from Pirelli’s replacement, the Rome-based paper added, after talks with previous groups came to a standstill.
