The sale of AC Milan to a Chinese consortium, scheduled to be finalised on March 3, could be delayed until the end of the month, a source close to the deal told AFP Wednesday.

Milan's media tycoon owner Silvio Berlusconi agreed in August 2016 to sell the club to Sino-Europe Sports (SES) in a deal that values the Serie A giants at 740 million euros ($825.4 million). But the takeover has been postponed on several occasions as the financial details are ironed out.

"The Chinese consortium has asked to postpone the signing by a month," the source said.

"That should be possible with the payment of a new instalment of 100 million euros."

Italian media has reported that the Chinese consortium, which has already paid out 200 million euros, was encountering difficulties after the withdrawal of one of its investors.

La Repubblica newspaper confirmed that one of the Chinese investors due to have paid out 80-100 million euros had withdrawn because it failed to obtain permission to move funds out of China.

"It's like a joke, one of those that doesn't make you laugh," opined Gazzetta dello Sport.

Milan's neighbours Inter Milan are already under Chinese ownership.