Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport has been reporting for several weeks now that American billionaire George Soros is inching closer to a takeover of Serie A giant AS Roma. Regardless, the paper points out that the club’s parent company, Italpetroli, has accumulated debts in the region of $555 million and looks likely to sell.
That said, the club is refusing to confirm these reports, with Roma administrative delegate Rosella Sensi recently proclaiming that her father, President Franco Sensi, would not sell to foreigners.
Soros’ name has appeared alongside a lengthening list of potential American suitors, including John Joseph Fisher and Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks. According La Gazzetta, the billionaire’s representatives from Rothschild Bank will meet with the Sensi family’s legal team following Roma’s second-leg Champions League quarterfinal with Manchester United on Wednesday. A deal could be wrapped up soon thereafter. Roma fans, of course, are opposed to foreign ownership. To soften them up, the 78-year-old was quoted as saying: “[Francesco] Totti is simply a phenomenon. I like him very much.”