Finnish billionaire Thomas Zilliacus has outlined his plans to attempt a takeover of Inter Milan with Sheikh Jassim Al-Thani.
Zilliacus spoke to Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, explaining his intentions regarding the Nerazzurri.
Rumours regarding a sale of Inter by current owners Suning have been persistent for months, and even years now.
Over the last few months, Finnish billionaire Zilliacus has been one of the potential buyers to emerge.
The Finn makes no secret of the fact that he has an interest in buying the Nerazzurri.
Of course, Zilliacus is far from the only person with an interest in purchasing Inter.
The likes of Bahrain-based fund InvestCorp are reportedly hoping to lead a consortium and make a big offer.
Meanwhile, Qatari Sheikh Jassim Al-Thani is another name to have emerged recently. The Qatari Sheikh had made a high-profile attempt to buy Manchester United.
However, that fell through.
Zilliacus had himself shown an interest in signing the Premier League giants in the recent past.
And for his part, the Finnish businessman is thinking about trying to join forces with Al-Thani to purchase a different club in the form of Inter.
Zilliacus On Plan To Buy Inter With Sheikh Jassim Al-Thani
Zilliacus explained that “I was happy when I saw that Sheikh Jassim would not be continuing negotiations to buy United.”
“I think Inter are an even more attractive club,” he went on.
Asked if he’s ever made offers to buy any club other than Inter or United, Zilliacus replied “”No, only those two. Inter and United.”
“For me it’s very important to find a club with a large, global fanbase,” he continued.
“I know I can generate big profits for clubs starting with these fans, by providing them with the services that they want.”
“I’ve been contacted by many clubs,” Zilliacus claimed. “But my response was: ‘If you don’t have a large global fan base, I’m not interested.”
“It all starts with an offer that I made to buy Manchester United last spring. I then came to the same conclusion that Sheikh Jassim Al-Thani must also have reached now.”
“Meaning that the Glazers were not serious about selling,” he went on.
“In April I announced that I would not move forward with negotiations,” the Finn continued.
“My previous offer was still on the table,” he continued. “But I advised them that I would not make any more offers.”
“As I said, my feeling was that the Glazers were not serious about selling.”
“At that point I said to Jassim, why don’t we join forces and make an offer for a better club?” he added.
