China's leading real estate developer Dalian Wanda Group announced Wednesday it will take 20 percent equity stake in Spanish soccer champions Atletico Madrid, becoming the first Chinese company to invest in a leading European soccer club.

The investment, worth 45 million euros ($52.09 million), will make the billionaire founder Wang Jianlin the latest businessman to enter the European soccer domain.

"I am quite satisfied at the price and the future [cooperation]," Wang, Chairman of Wanda Group, said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

According to Wang, the investment will provide opportunities for young Chinese players to be selected by leading European soccer clubs, and also improve the quality of Chinese soccer, narrowing the gap with the rest of the word.

The Atletico Madrid have won the La Liga Championship 10 times.

Wang's investment came on the heels of the Chinese national soccer team's advance to the knockout stage with the best-ever three straight wins in the AFC Asian Cup on Sunday.

Wang said Wanda, together with the Spanish partner, will invest 30 million euros in a training center for young Chinese players, and also fund three soccer schools in China.

Please contact us in case of Copyright Infringement of the photo sourced from the internet, we will remove it within 24 hours.