A.C Milan and Inter Milan must merge if they are to become strong again, according to high-profile agent Mino Raiola.
Milan and Inter are currently 12th and 11th respectively in Serie A and, not for the first time in recent seasons, the clubs are currently facing the prospect of missing out on European football next season.
Raiola, who represents players including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli and Paul Pogba, believes that only by combining forces can they become great again
He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Milan and Inter must unite. They used to be the richest clubs in the world but they never became clubs who could develop further without [Milan owner Silvio] Berlusconi or [former Inter owner Massimo] Moratti.
“London is the only city where they can afford to have several teams at the highest level nowadays. Either a wealthy Chinese person comes along, buys up all the biggest assets in the world and says, ‘I’m buying Milan and will pay to make them world champions,’ or the Milanese teams are not going to go anywhere by themselves.
“The fans will either continue to watch two half teams or only one which could really challenge with Real and Barca. If these two clubs merged, they would also combine their turnovers — instead of two clubs with 160 million euros, it would be one with 320 million euros — and they could create a brand which could only grow.”
It is a move that Raiola believes could also work in the Premier League, even with the congestion of London-based clubs.
“I thought about it,” he said. “It’s a strong brand which I believe has not yet been exploited: FC London. Paris Saint-Germain want to get rid of the ‘Saint-Germain’ part to be just Paris, and Milan needs to have FC Milano — unique and identifiable the world over.”
Raiola had considered buying a club in England, and revealed he was close to buying two Serie A clubs in the past.
“Did you know I was about to buy Napoli?” he said. “Together with [Udinese owner Giampaolo] Pozzo, before [Aurelio] De Laurentiis arrived. Then Aurelio came in and got himself a bargain. I was also close to Roma, before the Americans arrived.
“I had almost signed. I won’t reveal who my partner was, but Unicredit [bank] was concerned. They said they had 30,000 branches in Rome and if they sold the club to me, they would all get burnt down.”
Raiola, meanwhile, said he had abandoned his bid to run for FIFA presidencyafter Dutch FA president Michael van Praag declared his candidacy.
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