Berlusconi not averse to Russian business financing Italian soccer

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is also owner of the Milan soccer team, said that he would not be against Russian businessmen financing an Italian soccer team or club. "This was not discussed during my meeting with the Russian president. But if a businessman were found in Russia who would like to finance a soccer team or a club in Italy, we would be very glad of this," Berlusconi said at a joint press conference with Vladimir Putin in Lipetsk. For his part, Putin confirmed that he did not discuss this possibility with Berlusconi. Putin said that he is not "interested in such things, but we know that the Italian prime minister has such interests and that he is an active supporter of sport in his country." "When I was in Sardinia, I had the opportunity to see how supportive Berlusconi is of his Milan team. He is a real Italian tiffozi, and we will follow his example," Putin said.