Serie A club AC Milan have taken a further step in a move away from the iconic San Siro with the purchase of land to build a new stadium in Italy.

The northern Italian giants currently share the San Siro Stadium to the north-west of the city with rivals Inter Milan.

AC Milan have now acquired a 256,000 square metre plot in the San Donato municipality to the south-east of the city, 15 kilometres from the San Siro, a source close to the matter confirmed on Friday.

According to the Italian press, talks between the municipality of San Donato and local residents will enter a decisive phase next week with a view to a possible building permit being issued.

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Last September, AC Milan announced that it had set its sights on San Donato for a 70,000-seater stadium, without specifying the possible date of its inauguration.

San Siro, whose official name is the Giuseppe-Meazza Stadium, is an iconic 80,000-seater structure built in 1926, but which no longer meets the needs of clubs despite its modernisation for the 1990 World Cup.

Both clubs initially wanted to knock down the stadium and build a new stadium adjacent that they would share with an area dedicated to sports, entertainment, and shopping.

But this joint project was abandoned after officials deemed the city-owned San Siro to be of “cultural interest”.

In 2026, the iconic stadium will host the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.

The Star