Inter, Zhang elaborates on stadium project with AC Milan and gives Icardi update
"The youngest president in history? They often say it to me but I don't think about it too much. Age should not be a disadvantage, rather the opposite. It means having more energy, more time to learn, to improve and to change," he said.
"If I think of other sectors or what is happening in China or the US, people who are my age run companies that are worth billions. People like Zuckerberg or Elon Musk left before I did, my father started at my age. Who knows, maybe one of the reasons why the football industry is not growing as fast is because it lacks young people.
"What Suning represents for Inter? Very much. In China, we are the largest online television platform for football and we broadcast all the most important European leagues. Having Inter in Europe allows many companies or clubs to get to know each other better and to give us confidence, or UEFA to entrust us with the Champions League and the Europa League.
"The gap between us and the top teams? It was even greater three years ago. It will be a long process to fill it bt the target of a club like Inter must also be to exceed one billion in revenues (currently 350 million). A possible thing if we work on the stadium, sponsors, TV rights etc. This is why we started building a great team of directors and we invest strongly. Something unthinkable until recently.
The new stadium? AC Milan and Inter have shared the stadium and economically speaking it was a great choice in terms of costs and use. It works financially for the fans and from the perspective of the brand's perspectives. That's why we don't separate and work together for the new project.
"We need better and better conditions for the stadium and if we don't agree, we will think of new possibilities. But at the moment we want to be together [with Milan].
"Icardi? He is a great player, a good person and has helped the club with many goals in the past. We are sure we will find a good solution for him," Zhang concluded.