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The New York Yankees are adding a new “Bambino” to their roster of business assets.
The Bronx Bombers joined forces with a financial firm and a group of investors led by basketball great LeBron James to purchase legendary Italian soccer club AC Milan, sources told The Post on Tuesday.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner acquired a little less than a 10% stake in the Series A soccer power and may showcase repeats of their games on its YES cable network, according to sources.
YES has a partnership to televise reruns of games played by the Premier League’s Manchester City, which owns the New York City Football Club. NYCFC plays its home games at Yankee Stadium and their games are televised on YES.
“Hal [Steinbrenner] has a lot of interest in soccer,” a source said.
Steinbrenner will be a minority owner to Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital Partners, which is buying AC Milan for $1.19 billion, sources said. LeBron James’ Main Street Advisors is also a minority investor, sources added.
A Yankees spokesperson declined comment.
RedBird is in the process of closing its buyout of AC Milan and was seeking co-investors.
Cardinale has a long relationship with the Steinbrenners. He was a Goldman Sachs banker who helped them launch the YES Network in 2002.
The quickly growing RedBird has $6 billion in assets under management, including a stake in Fenway Sports Group — owner of the Yankees’ fiercest rival, the Boston Red Sox, and the Liverpool soccer team.
The Yankees famously bought the original Bambino, Babe Ruth, from the Red Sox, in 1920.
The deal for AC Milan, which won its 19th Series A title last season, adds to a growing list of US sports team owners who are expanding to European soccer.
Los Angeles Dodgers owner Todd Boehly just bought a piece of Chelsea. Josh Harris, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, owns Crystal Palace. Stan Kroenke, who owns the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, also owns Arsenal. Red Sox boss John Henry owns Liverpool and and the Glazers, who own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, own fabled English soccer club Manchester United.