A board meeting on Thursday could sanction a historic change in the ownership of AC Milan amid reports of a successful takeover bid from a group of Chinese investors.
The annual financial results for the Serie A club are due to be announced at 4:00 p.m. CET, amid growing speculation that club president Silvio Berlusconi has accepted a bid for his holding company Fininvest's majority stake in the Rossoneri.
According to reports in Italy, including Il Corriere dello Sport, the Evergrande Real Estate Group -- already owners of Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande and led by the founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, and co-founder of Chinese search engine Baidu, Robin Li -- have reached an agreement with Berlusconi for €700-720 million.
The agreement could be signed and sealed at the weekend, when Berlusconi's 30-year ownership could officially come to an end.
It would bring an end to almost 18 months of on-off negotiations over the sale of Milan. Berlusconi initially stated his desire to relinquish part of his stake when Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol declared his interest in late 2014.
They were close to an agreement which would have seen Taechaubol gain control of almost half of the Serie A club last year. A memorandum of understanding between the pair was signed last September, but this included a clause which meant the deal would expire if Berlusconi did not commit to it by a certain date, and he did not.
This time around, however, Berlusconi is reported to have finally agreed to the total sale of the club, on the advice of his children.
According to the Xinhua news agency, Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim of Malaysia's southern Johor state has denied reports he is also bidding for the Italian club.
"I was also asked if I have any interest in buying a foreign club. My exact answer was yes. If I have to pick a club, it would have to be Milan. That's one of my dreams," he said.
"But it doesn't mean I'm going to buy it. It's just a club that I've adored since I was young. That's all. So to answer any speculations, the answer is No. I'm not buying Milan."
Berlusconi would leave at one of the lowest ebbs in his three decades at the helm, with the Rossoneri facing a third straight season without qualifying for Europe.
The proposed takeover could see Marcello Lippi installed as the club's new coach next season. The 68-year-old Italian admitted last December that he is waiting for the right offer to return to coaching and that could come from the people who celebrated success with him in Guangzhou.
Lippi led the Chinese club to AFC Champions League glory and three Chinese Super League titles before leaving his role there in November 2014. The former Juventus and Italy coach has not worked in the game since.
Milan are expected to post significant losses once again at Thursday's board meeting. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, they will report operating losses of almost €90m -- their 10th straight loss since posting a profit in 2006, thanks mainly to the sale of Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea.
Milan have only made an annual profit three times in Berlusconi's 30-year ownership.