Despite some tribulations over the years, the Zhang family is fully committed to Inter. They demonstrated it again by turning down an offer to sell the club. It is the second time it has happened in the span of a year.
According to Tuttosport, the Chinese ownership received a €900M bid from American investors to give up the majority stake of the team. In the past few months, they had rejected a proposal from BC Partners to do the same. Instead, despite the rumors, the interest from PIF never moved past the initial stages.
President Steven Zhang reassured shareholders that Inter have enough liquidity for the next two seasons. They recently restructured their debt through a new €415M bond. Moreover, they are still benefitting from a €275M loan from Oaktree. Its expiration in May 2024 represents the next crucial turning point on the horizon, the newspaper suggests. However, the Suning conglomerate has ample time to devise a strategy ahead of a deadline.
As a further signal that the club will carry on as presently constituted, the entire front office, starting with Giuseppe Marotta, signed new contracts that run through 2025 over the weekend. CEO Alessandro Antonelli confirmed in a interview to the Financial Times: “Zhang is not considering selling Inter since he has a long-term project. The investments of foreign funds could be a way for Serie A to grow, but it is not the only one. The most important thing is to create a new governance that could be a plus for the League.”