Former Italian prime minister and AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has died aged 86.
The world-famous politician, who was the owner of Serie A side Monza before his death, had been in hospital battling illness.
The former Italian prime minister owned two Serie A teams.
Berlusconi was in charge of three of Milan’s European cups.
He died in the San Raffaele hospital in Milan where he was being treated for a lung infection linked to leukemia according to Italian media reports.
AC Milan profondamente addolorato piange la scomparsa dell’indimenticabile Silvio Berlusconi e si stringe con affetto alla famiglia, ai collaboratori e agli amici più cari.
“Domani sogneremo altri traguardi, inventeremo altre sfide, cercheremo altre vittorie. Che valgano a… pic.twitter.com/CWmYy8xzwi— AC Milan (@acmilan) June 12, 2023
Berlusconi led four Italian governments from 1994 to 2011 and had recently returned to top-level politics when his Forza Italia party entered a coalition with now-prime minister Georgia Meloni.
He is best known among football fans for his 31-year ownership of Serie A giants Milan which ended in 2017.
After taking over the team in 1986, Milan won three Champions Leagues, eight Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia.
Since selling the team to a consortium led by Yonghong Li, Berlusconi returned to football with the local side, Monza just a year later.
The team were promoted to Serie A for the first time in 2021 and made headlines when Berlusconi promised the players sex workers if they beat one of the league’s top clubs.
His career was dogged by sex scandals and in 2022 he was seen on camera saying: “I told the guys … now you will play Milan, Juventus. If you win against one of these top teams, I’ll bring a bus of whores into the locker room.”
Adriano Galliani e tutto AC Monza piangono affranti la scomparsa di Silvio Berlusconi: “Un vuoto che non potrà mai essere colmato, per sempre con noi. Grazie di tutto Presidente”. pic.twitter.com/URLk802bcJ
— AC Monza (@ACMonza) June 12, 2023
