Since July 2020, the Kingdom of Bahrain had already set foot in European football.
The small Gulf state has indeed become a shareholder (20%) and sponsor of Paris FC (L2).
But he is not destined to become the owner of the Parisian club and his investment remains relatively modest.
But another club is in the process of going completely under the Bahraini flag with a deal of a completely different dimension financially.
This is the prestigious AC Milan, as mentioned for several days.
Unlike Paris FC, it is not the royal family that will invest, but an investment fund, the company Investcorp, based in Bahrain.
This Monday afternoon, the Bahraini Embassy in Britain revealed that Investcorp had entered into "exclusive talks" with the current owners of AC Milan.
Their offer amounts to 1.1 billion dollars (1.02 billion euros).
Four years ago the Americans of Elliott Management Corporation bought AC Milan for 760 million euros.
#Bahrain 🇧🇠based asset manager @Investcorp has entered in exclusive talks to buy Italian #SerieA club #ACMilan for $1.1 billion.
Investcorp was founded in 1982, offers a diverse and truly global investment portfolio and manages over $42 billion in assets across the globe pic.twitter.com/ZRpEWriPVo
— Bahrain Embassy UK (@BahrainEmbUK) April 18, 2022
A company that manages $42 billion in assets worldwide
Chaired by Omani businessman Mohammed Al-Ardhi, Investcorp presents itself as "one of the world's leading managers" allowing families in the Middle East to invest their wealth in alternative investment opportunities.
The company manages 42 billion dollars (38.8 billion euros) of assets in areas including private equity, real estate and infrastructure, across the world.
This weekend, Mohammed Al-Ardhi, who is directly leading the negotiations, posted a tweet to congratulate AC Milan, for having climbed to the top of the championship, and wishing a happy Easter to the club and its tifosi.
A very commented tweet.
If the discussions started a month ago, the sale should not succeed or be formalized before the end of the championship, so as not to disturb the team which is aiming for a 19th title of Italian champion.
AC Milan would become the first Italian club to come under the control of Middle Eastern investors.
This future change of ownership has, for the moment, been well received by the club's entourage and its supporters.