It is the end of an era for Inter Milan. Long-time owner and club President Massimo Moratti has stepped aside (he still retains shares in the club as well as a place on the board) and sold a 70 per cent share in the club to new majority owner Erick Thohir.
The Indonesian businessman has paid €250 million for that stake in the club.
Thohir, who heads a three-person consortium, already has stakes in NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and MLS team D.C. United.
Massimo Moratti
But why has Moratti - whose father was president during the era of La Grande Inter in the 60s - sold the club to a foreign investor?
Off The Ball got the answer from European football writer and Serie A expert James Horncastle.
"The Moratti family holding company SARAS isn't printing money in the way it did. Whereas Moratti has been able to cover Inter's losses over the last few years but he hasn't been able to take the club forward, build a new stadium and raise commercial revenue elsewhere in the world. For the last year, he's looking for investment from the outside," explained Horncastle.
Erick Thohir
The deal with Thohir had been on the table for five months as Moratti deliberated over the merits of handing the club away and potentially allowing the club he loves to "fall into the wrong hands". Evidently he has received assurances from Thohir about the club's future.
"Thohir is part of a rich family. In fact, you'll find his father and his brother on the Forbes Rich List. Erick himself isn't on that so a lot of Italians are interested about what kind of investment he will bring. The feeling is that the €200 million from the €250 million will wipe out Inter's debt and allow it to be a healthy club again," said Horncastle.
"It's not been compared to Abramovich or Rybolovlev at Monaco or Manchester City or PSG. The comparison has been made with the investment made at Roma who were taken over by an American consortium. Inter are huge in Asia so Thohir will help with the commercial side and he will also look to build a stadium to allow Inter to stand on their own two feet."
It is certainly a sea change with Horncastle citing Moratti as one of the last romantic Italian owners who has become revered by Inter fans despite occasionally spending badly during his time at the helm.
