The proposed sale of Italian giants AC Milan to a Chinese consortium is a “great opportunity” for the club, the team’s injured skipper Riccardo Montolivo said Friday.

The 30-year-old midfielder said Milan had to “adapt” to the modern world, pointing to the foreign ownership of big clubs across Europe.

“I think that it is a great opportunity for AC Milan,” he told AFP hours before the Italian Super Cup between the Rossoneri and Juventus.
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“Of course, it’s sad for us because present owner, Silvio Berlusconi is more than a president for us, he’s a father for us, and a father, I think, for all the Milan fans.

“This is the future and we have to adapt, accept this.”

Earlier this month it was announced that the potential sale to Chinese consortium Sino-Europe Sports had been pushed back until March 3 from an earlier deadline of December 13.

Montolivo himself will not play in the Super Cup having suffered a knee injury playing for Italy against Spain in October.

But he said he hoped to be back on the pitch before the end of the season.

“I will be back, I hope, in the spring. I don’t have a date.

“It’s a long injury, you need five, six months.

“I have to be patient, maybe March, April, I don’t know yet. I hope at the end of the season.”