Inter President Erick Thohir he’s “not looking to sell more than five per cent of shares” and trusts they can beat Juventus.
The patron spoke to the Press and once again denied reports in today’s papers that he was looking to sell his majority shares.
“We are not for sale, I don’t know why people are saying that,” noted the Indonesian businessman.
“It is true we are collaborating with Goldman Sachs, but only because of the 264m fans we have in the world, a good 190m are in the Asian-Pacific region.
Inter President Erick Thohir he’s “not looking to sell more than five per cent of shares” and trusts they can beat Juventus.
The patron spoke to the Press and once again denied reports in today’s papers that he was looking to sell his majority shares.
“We are not for sale, I don’t know why people are saying that,” noted the Indonesian businessman.
“It is true we are collaborating with Goldman Sachs, but only because of the 264m fans we have in the world, a good 190m are in the Asian-Pacific region.
“We have to be there, that is our future in a commercial sense. It’s no coincidence we opened up our first office in Asia. We already have various affairs there, including the Inter Academy and a deal with Le Sport, but we want to do more.
“There is Financial Fair Play to consider and we have improved compared to last season. Our revenue has grown from €164m to €180m.
“We have a five-year project and if the club needs money then we’ll add capital, but obviously we have to keep an eye on the changes that are happening at a global level.
“We want to find a partner in Asia, this is why I spoke to Goldman Sachs, but I want to be certain it is a reliable partner in terms of commercialisation in China.
“We must be open to these types of situations, because football is becoming global. In the Premier League there are several club owners who are not English.
“If someone wants to buy shares then we’ll talk about it, but at the moment nobody has taken steps in that direction. At most we’d sell five per cent, but I don’t have a name. If you want to suggest one…!
“Many clubs, not just Inter, are looking for a partner.”
Thohir also firmly denied rumours Inter would be on the verge of bankruptcy if they don’t qualify for Europe.
“As you know our objective is to get back into the Champions League, but if we don’t achieve qualification then we know how to move. We have a plan, with or without Europe.
“Anyone who thinks we’d be dead without the Champions League is wrong. I put money into the club, but it’s nothing compared to how much Massimo Moratti invested in the past.”
Thohir was also asked about the two upcoming games against Juventus, in Serie A and the Coppa Italia semi-final.
“We will beat Juventus, that is the most important thing! In December we were top of the table, now we are fifth, but our objective is always the Champions League.
“We changed many players, but this summer we won’t do the same thing because we need consistency. We will change three or four players at the most, but will not change our Coach.
“Roberto Mancini is our manager, he has our complete support, he has a contract and we want to go forward with him.”