Beijing, Jan 21: Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin bought a 20 percent stake in Spanish league champions Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, his company announced, the first mainland Chinese investment in a top European football club.
The deal was worth 45 million euros ($52 million) the real estate tycoon's Wanda Group said on a verified account on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.
It will provide "all-round support for the development of Chinese football", the statement said, adding that both sides will spend 30 million euros on a youth training centre in Madrid to foster young talent, including players from China.
Wang is number 42 on Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest people, with a fortune estimated at $18 billion, and was named as China's second-wealthiest man last year. The flotation of one of his firm's subsidiaries may have since propelled him into first place.    AFP