Breaking News – AC Milan banned from competing in Europe for next season

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AC Milan have been banned by UEFA from competing in the Champions League and Europa League for next season after breaching Financial Fair Play rules. UEFA announced its decision on Tuesday, citing that Milan would not be able to play in any European competition for the 2018/19 campaign despite qualifying for the Europa League. The Serie A side last year spent more than £175million (€200m) on new players as amid questions over the financial stability of the Chinese-led consortium that purchased the club from Silvio Berlusconi for £600m in April 2017. Milan released a video on Twitter on Monday putting their case forward ahead of UEFA’s decision, sharing some very important facts about their revenue. ‘Ahead of UEFA’s judgement, we want to share with you some significant facts. We are expecting fairness, rulings based on facts, equal rules for all,’ Milan captioned their video message on Twitter. Some of the club’s problems stem from when they took a loan from U.S. private equity fund Elliott worth more than £263m that club chairman Li Yonghong has struggled to pay back. The club added on Monday: ‘We invested more than €200m to open up a new era. A year later, the value of the investment remains unaltered and the value of the squad is the third highest in Serie A. ‘We secured qualification to the Europa League group stage and reached two finals of the Coppa Italia (both senior squad and youth team). ‘We are requalifying the Milanello training ground and taking part in the next season of the Women’s Serie A league. We adhered to the initiative of the FIGC on B-Teams and, if included in the list, will participate in the next Lega Pro season with our Under-21 side. ‘We immediately worked to make the organisation more efficient so we could run it in a virtuous manner. Despite the fact that after the “closing” two main sponsors (Audi and Adidas) resolved their contracts with Milan, we still closed the balance sheet with €20m more in revenue. ‘The Milan EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortization), including summer transfers, will be positive to the tune of €28m and €50m better than the previous year, meeting the target set in the business plan we presented to UEFA. ‘We lowered the operating costs by €6m. Our majority shareholder increased the capital over the course of a year by €88m (not with loans), elevating the value of the club. Milan have always respected deadlines. ‘All of these facts are inspired by a single mantra: work for the future of Milan, an added value for world football. Milan are ready to pay for the errors made in the past. We have the utmost respect for the rules, but we expect equality. Judgement must be based on facts and equal rules for all.’ Amid Milan’s financial troubles, the Ricketts family that owns the Chicago Cubs say they are negotiating to purchase the club. The Milan office of the Edelman public relations firm, which has been hired to represent the Ricketts, says the entire family is

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