MILAN, March 1 — The sale of AC Milan to a Chinese consortium, scheduled to be finalised on March 3, could be delayed until the end of the month, a source close to the deal told AFP today.

Milan’s media tycoon owner Silvio Berlusconi agreed in August 2016 to sell the club to Sino-Europe Sports (SES) in a deal that values the Serie A giants at €740 million (RM3.4 billion). But the takeover has been postponed on several occasions as the financial details are ironed out.

"The Chinese consortium has asked to postpone the signing by a month,” the source said.

"That should be possible with the payment of a new instalment of €100 million.”

Italian media has reported that the Chinese consortium, which has already paid out €200 million, was encountering difficulties after the withdrawal of one of its investors.

La Repubblica newspaper confirmed that one of the Chinese investors due to have paid out €80-100 million had withdrawn because it failed to obtain permission to move funds out of China.

"It’s like a joke, one of those that doesn’t make you laugh,” opined Gazzetta dello Sport.

Milan’s neighbours Inter Milan are already under Chinese ownership. — AFP