Chinese ownership of AC Milan would be hard to swallow for Dutch great Marco Van Basten

Dutch football great Marco Van Basten has expressed his disbelief at seeing Serie A giants AC Milan and Inter Milan fall to Chinese ownership, claiming “two such glorious clubs should remain Italian”.

Van Basten, recently appointed Fifa’s technical chief, won four Serie A titles and two European Cups with AC Milan in a glittering career that saw him score some of the most memorable goals in modern history.

But seeing his beloved AC Milan, who are in the midst of a takeover, fall into Chinese ownership is something he finds “hard to swallow”.

Inter Milan, who have struggled since winning the treble under Jose Mourinho in 2010, have been owned by the Suning Commerce group since last summer.

“It’s hard to think of Milan and Inter having Chinese owners. Two such glorious clubs should remain Italian,” Van Basten said in an interview with Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday.

“It’s not just about the charm or the story, of (Massimo) Moratti or (Silvio) Berlusconi. It’s about passion, which is priceless. Milan being Chinese owned is hard to swallow.”