On the surface, you’d think Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan are looking at a bright future. Winning Serie A in 2021, the Coppa Italia in 2022 and 2023 and sealing a sixth consecutive top-four finish and Champions League qualification, they are now setting their sights on their biggest match in over a decade as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City await them in the Champions League Final. However, a number of lurking realities are slowly catching up to the club, building a wall of uncertainty at the Italian giants. 

The Cessation of Chinese Investment in Football

We’ll start off with their ownership situation. Steven Zhang is the current owner and the son of the founder of Suning Group, which took a massive hit in recent years. Former Chinese Super League champions, Jiangsu FC, who were owned by the Suning Group, abruptly dissolved their operations as a football club just three months after being crowned the Chinese football champions.

Subsequent to their 2015 takeover of Jiangsu, the Suning Group became an angel investor of Shanghai Chuangbing Information Technology Co., Ltd, a company specializing in sports statistical analysis and embarked on a tirade of signing foreign players to lead like Alex Teixeira, to lead their eventual charge to the CSL title.