San Siro sale faces annulment bid as probe widens

A motion to annul the planned sale of San Siro to Inter and AC Milan has been filed in Milan’s city council, adding political uncertainty to a stadium deal that underpins the clubs’ strategy to replace the venue with a new arena and mixed-use development.Fratelli d’Italia, the main opposition group in the city council and Italy’s largest party nationally, has asked Mayor Giuseppe Sala and the city executive to cancel the September resolution that approved the transfer of the stadium and surrounding areas to the two clubs.The motion is anchored to an ongoing prosecutors’ investigation into the administrative process behind the sale, with the opposition arguing that continuing with implementation could expose the city and counterparties to financial and legal risk if irregularities are confirmed.Riccardo Truppo, Fratelli d’Italia’s group leader in the city council, said: “The sale was born under very bad premises.”Truppo also criticised the timeline used to approve the resolution, saying councillors were given limited time to review documentation tied to years of preparatory work.The club-led redevelopment is understood to be valued at around €1.5bn and would see a new stadium built on land adjacent to the current venue, with the existing structure then demolished or repurposed under revised plans.The transaction value for the stadium and related land has been reported at roughly €200m, although the exact structure involves multiple approvals and staged steps, including planning permissions and technical assessments.Investigators have reportedly examined allegations including bid-rigging and the disclosure of official secrets, with searches carried out at city offices and at the joint venture that manages the stadium on behalf of the two clubs.The political row has also spilled into public theatre inside the council chamber, with opposition councillors using banners to call for Sala’s resignation, presenting the stadium file as a test case for governance on major infrastructure projects.Simone Orlandi, Fratelli d’Italia’s city coordinator, said the party had previously flagged issues in the resolution and had not been heard, adding that the group was now pursuing the challenge through a formal council motion.The renewed uncertainty risks delaying a timetable that has already stretched across years of design revisions and stakeholder negotiations, while also raising financing and partner questions tied to naming rights, premium seating inventory and adjacent real-estate value.The motion is expected to be scheduled for debate in the city council within 10 days, while the prosecutorial investigation continues and could shape whether the clubs can progress to the next stage of approvals.