AC Milan's Jeremy Menez (C) celebrates after scoring against Cagliari during their Italian Serie A soccer match at Milan's San Siro stadium on March 21, 2015. (Photo : REUTERS/ALESSANDRO GAROFALO)
World-renowned football clubs Real Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan will be visiting China to compete in the International Champions Cup at the end of July starting with the Milan Derby.
The Italian teams, who both struggled in the Serie A in the previous season for a place in the UEFA Champions League, aim to bounce back next season.
Milan, who replaced coach Filippo Inzaghi with Serbian Sinisa Mihajlovic, has already signed several players.
With the departure of veteran players including Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini in 2012, Milan was widely criticized for their low-budget transfer policy.
It was not until two consecutive disappointing seasons later that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has owned the club for over 25 years, made substantial financial investments that led to five new signings since the start of the summer transfer window.
Colombian Carlos Bacca leads Milan's transfer list, joining the Rossoneri on a 30 million euro ($32 million) deal. The former Sevilla striker made 20 goals in the past season in La Liga, fifth on the scoring list.
Mihajlovic has already signed three other young Italian midfielders: 24-year-old Andrea Bertolacci, from Roma for 20 million euros; 23-year-old Simone Verdi, from Torino for 450,000 euros; and 19-year-old Jose Mauri, a free transfer from Parma.
Luiz Adriano also joined the Rossoneri from Shakhtar Donetsk on an 8-million-euro transfer, along with fellow Brazilian defender Rodrigo Ely.
The seven-time Champions League frontrunners also had several departures, including Adil Rami of France, Sulley Muntari of Ghana, and Italians Giampaolo Pazzini and Steven el Shaarawy.
Meanwhile, Milan's city rival Inter acquired Geoffrey Kondogbia, a former Milan transfer target, from Monaco for a reported 35-million-euro deal. They also snatched Brazilian International Miranda from Atletico Madrid.
The past season's Milan Derby only saw two draws, and many are expecting a tough battle between the two sides on Saturday at the Universiade Sports Center in Shenzhen.
This will not be the first time for Milan to play in Chinese soil. In 2011, the club won 2-1 in the Italian Super Cup held at the Bird's Nest in Beijing. The game drew in over 80,000 spectators and is considered to be the most successful match involving foreign teams playing in China.
Real also underwent changes this summer, highlighted with their captain keeper Iker Cassilas's transfer to Porto in exchange for Brazilians Casemiro and Danilo.
The club also sent German Sami Khedira to Juventus on a free transfer.
Real has qualified for the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League since the 2010-2011 season, including winning a final in 2014 to bag a La Decima, winning the intra-continental title 10 times in a row.
Real fired the Decima-winning coach Carlo Ancelotti and hired Rafael Benitez. There are also rumors of defender and vice-captain Sergio Ramos leaving the club.
Benitez started his tenure in Real with a 7-6 penalty shootout loss to AS Roma at a pre-season friendly on Saturday in Melbourne.
The club will visit China next week to face Inter on Monday at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou before taking on Milan on July 30 at Shanghai Stadium.
