The mayor of Milan has poured cold water on the prospect of either the Italian city’s clubs building a new stadium.

Giuseppe Sala told Sky that he was “pessimistic” about such a move for either Internazionale or AC Milan, and said that they should concentrate on investing in the San Siro stadium they currently share.

Both clubs have looked into the prospect of moving out of the ground, which is antiquated and regularly fails to attract the 80,000-plus people it needs to fill it out.

However, Sala said: “I’m pessimistic about the chances of another stadium. I don’t think the two clubs want to bear an investment like that. San Siro is the stadium where, together, the teams have won more trophies than at any other stadium in the world. I’d think well about it before giving it up.”

The most concrete plan was for AC Milan to move out into a newly-built 48,000 capacity stadium, with Internazionale staying and renovating the existing stadium. But the proposal never took off.

Since the summer, both clubs have been acquired by wealthy Chinese groups, which may make the plans to build new infrastructure more feasible.