Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 8y

Palermo takeover deal moving closer - businessman Frank Cascio

The American businessman bidding to buy Serie A club Palermo has said talks with owner Maurizio Zamparini are progressing well.

Frank Cascio has spent the past few days in Sicily negotiating with Zamparini, and Il Giornale di Sicilia reported him as saying: "Zamparini and his family are special people.

"We're in agreement and we are moving ahead in a process. Things are moving quickly because Zamparini knows where my heart is.

"The future of Palermo is important for me and for him. He wants to get to know my group and our project and I think we are in agreement. It's not a question of money."

Cascio -- introduced to Zamparini by Venezia president Joe Tacopina -- has Sicilian roots, with his father hailing from near Taormina.

A deal in the region of €50 million is expected to be struck, bringing to an end Zamparini's 14-year ownership.

Those years saw the club promoted to Serie A and playing for five seasons in the Europa League before being relegated to Serie B in 2013.

They returned to the top flight after just one season and narrowly avoided relegation in 2015-16, during which Zamparini made nine managerial changes.

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