Milan fans turn on Yonghong Li A

A year on from Silvio Berlusconi’s sale, Milan supporters finally realise Yonghong Li is not qualified to run the club, writes Matthew Santangelo.

A sense of relief filled each and every Milan supporter last summer as three-decade President Silvio Berlusconi finally relinquished the club to Yonghong Li, a name determined to invest significantly in the market and restore order to the Rossoneri regime by spending upward of €200m on nearly a dozen fresh faces.

One after the other, handshakes were shared between CEO Marco Fassone, sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli and a new signing brought in to build a winner once again out of the seven-time Champions League victors.

Caught up in all this summer activity and spending, however, was a hint of concern over Li’s legitimacy and whether the Chinese businessman could provide proper stability, quell all doubt over his mysterious background and return Milan back to prominence once again. After all, the protracted negotiations raised eyebrows and taking out a high-interest loan from a hedge fund just to complete the takeover was downright odd.

It became clear as time progressed and with the deadline to repay the loan to Elliott Management nearing and UEFA hammering down, that Yonghong Li isn’t fit to lead – and maybe the writing was on the wall for everyone to see.

Roma President James Pallotta was quick to question Li’s financial standing and club icon Paolo Maldini refused to get involved with a project he did not quite believe in. Yet those who spoke up were quickly accused of being bitter or trying to damage Milan’s glorious revival.

Milan supporters wanted to believe in the Chinese ownership, but refused to rule out a worst-case scenario throughout the turbulent 2017-18 Serie A season in which both the project and club’s reputation would take a hit, once again casting a cloud over the future.

As things stand, Milan finds themselves in a difficult position under Li, who has been exposed for his murky finances and shady behavior in between both UEFA’s recent ruling to exclude the club from the Europa League and the whirlwind surrounding Mediacom chairman Rocco Commisso’s attempt to save the Italian giants from this nightmare.

Supporters are fully aware Li is not the figure to revive this club. The longer he holds out from selling to Commisso, who hears the call for help from fans and wishes to rush to their aid by purchasing a majority stake, the bigger a scapegoat he becomes.

But more important than that, Milan’s brand continues to suffer as a result of this constant turmoil and drama ahead of the 2018-19 Serie A campaign – and that is where Commission believes he could stop the bleeding.

The 68-year-old Calabrese billionaire understands that despite the struggle they currently face under Li’s reign, the 18-time Italian champions deserve much better and simply cannot continue having their history, brand, nameplate and reputation dragged through the wringer.

Li entered the fray last summer, leading many football fans to believe the hierarchical issues and dysfunction that plagued the club under Berlusconi in his final years would be a thing of the past. Here in July, 15 months after the 48-year- old’s first chant of “Forza Milan,” supporters feel they have been duped, deceived and fed false hope – and now call on another to steady the ship through even choppier waters.