Updated Saturday 1.05pm

A mystery Italian football team is for sale, and a Maltese intermediary is looking for a buyer using the Times of Malta classifieds section.

The €3.8 million opportunity to buy a Serie B club was described as a “one-off bargain” in a listing published on Christmas Eve. The advert added that the unnamed second-tier club was debt free and had players worth about €4.5m on its books.

“Brokers welcome,” the advertisement noted.

The curious classified included a phone number for lawyer Carl Peralta, who runs real estate business 77 Great Estates as well as football agency 77 Attackers.

The latter, which was set up earlier this year, focuses on “a few but capable Attackers and Coaching staff,” according to its website.

It has a portfolio of around 30 players who ply their trade in football leagues across the globe, from Venezuela to Bosnia-Herzegovina and, of course, Malta.

Dr Peralta asked for questions about the odd classified advertisement to be sent in writing. He had not replied at the time of writing. 

The Serie B president Mauro Balato was reported on Saturday of having sent out a complaint to the Procura Federale, which will investigate the matter.

The odd classified ad.

Serie B club ownership is not the most stable of business ventures. Table-topping Palermo were sold to a shadowy investment fund earlier this month, while second-placed Brescia switched ownership just last year. Hellas Verona, who sit in third place, were put up for sale for a rumoured €70 million last May.

Several other Serie B clubs further down the table are also on the market, according to Italian media. They range from Pescara, who are currently in fourth place, to lower-placed Foggia and Carpi, whose owners are embroiled in legal troubles which might put their football futures at risk.