Suning Holdings, the Chinese retail giant that is the majority shareholder of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal's team, is looking for investors interested in taking a stake in the Italian club in a bid to raise fresh capital to fix its finances. The idea is not new. Suning was in talks with private equity firm BC Partners to sell part ownership of the club, but negotiations foundered earlier this year.

Inter's revenues, like those of many soccer clubs, were hit hard by the pandemic. This year the club struggled to pay players' salaries, although it finally secured financing from fund manager Oaktree Capital Management, which last May agreed to lend the club US$310 million.

An injection of fresh capital would give Inter the resources to repay its debts and avoid what happened to arch-rivals AC Milan three years ago, when one of its creditors, hedge fund Elliot Investment, took ownership of the club after it failed to meet its financial commitments.