Inter Milan’s Indonesian owner said Thursday he hoped to bring the team to Asia next year as he tries to lift the club from financial mayhem and into a top-10 team.
Media mogul Erick Thohir became owner of Inter last November when he bought a 70 percent stake in the ailing club.
With a track record of turning cash-strapped ventures around, the entrepreneur is expected to breathe new life into the club, in part by opening new markets and fan bases in Asia.
“After two years touring in the US, we are strongly considering and working hard to bring Inter to Asia next year,” he told reporters in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
“Hopefully we can announce it in a few weeks’ time. But Asia is a choice and we are looking at which cities we can visit,” said Thohir, who is usually media shy.
Thohir said that the club had been grown over the past six months.
“The challenge is not only the revenue but how you manage the budget. Some of our players, for sure they want to have a bigger contract, a longer contract,” he said.
“It was a tough job last year. We let go of a lot of our heroes which is not easy.”
Inter has bought several star players this summer, including Manchester United’s centre-back Nemanja Vidic from Serbia and Cardiff’s midfielder Gary Medel from Chile.
Inter’s midfielder Ricardo Alvarez will join the English club Sunderland in a seasonal loan.
“I don’t think most of the players like to sit on the bench the whole season so it’s good to send Ricky to Sunderland as a loan. He can grow in Sunderland,” Thohir said.
Thohir, who has said he has “come to Inter to win”, is now focused on investing in young players and making Inter a world top-10 team.
“To do that, this club must be one of the top-10 revenue-generating clubs in world football. From the start I have emphasised the importance of increasing revenue to remain competitive.”
Inter is not Thohir’s first sporting project — he bought into Major League Soccer club DC United and the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, both of which showed marked improvements in performance since his involvement.