Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Dalian Wanda property group, has agreed to buy a stake in Atletico Madrid football club, the latest move by China’s second-richest man to build a global entertainment empire stretching from China’s rust belt to Hollywood.

The transaction, worth €40m-€45m, is to be announced at a press conference in Beijing today, according to people close to the deal. It will see Mr Wang’s Dalian Wanda Group take a 20 per cent stake in the reigning Spanish champions. Wanda in Beijing declined to comment.

The move by Mr Wang — whose personal wealth is $13.2bn according to Forbes Magazine — would be the first Chinese investment in a top-flight European football club, and follows similar moves by wealthy individuals and companies from the Middle East and the US.