Dangote Makes U-turn on Arsenal, Explains Why He Would No Longer Buy English Club
- Aliko Dangote has disclosed that he no longer has the required liquidity to acquire English club Arsenal
- The wealthiest man in Africa, who is a staunch fan of the Gunners, had expressed interest in acquiring the club
- Dangote opted to complete his $20 billion refinery instead of spending $2 billion to buy a football club
Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that the time has passed for him to consider buying English Premier League club Arsenal.
The Nigerian entrepreneur faced a choice between completing his $20 billion refinery or spending $2 billion to buy a football club.
He prioritised the refinery, a monumental project deemed unachievable by many. Though he later regretted not acquiring the club when it was valued at approximately $2 billion, he believes that the refinery was the wiser investment.
Source: Getty Images
The business mogul disclosed that he opted to spend money on completing his refinery project, rather than acquiring the football club for about $4 billion.
In a chat with Bloomberg in New York, Dangote stated that he no longer has the excess liquidity to spend such an amount on a football team.
Asked if he would still consider splashing cash on the Gunners, Dangote responded via Bloomberg:
"That time has passed. The last time we had this interview, I told you that as soon as we finish the refinery, I would try and buy Arsenal.
"But the issue is that you know, everything has gone up, and the club too, they are doing well. Arsenal is doing extremely well. That time, Arsenal wasn't doing well.
"I think I don't have that kind of excess liquidity to go and buy a club for $4billion so to speak, and use it as a promotion something. I'll rather do something with money.
"What I'll do, I will continue to be the biggest fan of Arsenal. I watch their games every day. I will remain a major supporter of the club, but I don't think it makes sense today to buy Arsenal.
"Actually, I regret not buying, but you know my money was more needed in completing my project than buying Arsenal.
"I would have bought it for $2 billion, but I wouldn't have been able to complete the refinery project."
Arsenal not for sale
Meanwhile, Arsenal Football Club is not currently for sale. The club is wholly owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), led by Stan Kroenke, who completed a full takeover in August 2018.
The businessman acquired Alisher Usmanov’s 30% stake, forcing out the remaining minority shareholders, per Sports Illustrated.
Source: Getty Images
In 2021, KSE rejected a £1.8 billion bid from Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, with Josh Kroenke stating, “We remain 100% committed to Arsenal and are not selling any stake in the club. We have not received any offer, and we will not entertain any offer.”
Dog predicts PSG vs Arsenal
Legit.ng earlier reported that a dog has predicted the full-time result of the second leg, and it is bad news for the English club, as seen in a video on social media.
The dog nodded five balls towards bins labelled with each club’s logos, and it headed three into PSG’s bins, while two went astray, suggesting a 3-0 win for the French side.
Four shots rebounded off Arsenal’s bin before either landing in PSG’s bin or going wide.
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Source: Legit.ng
